What does a regular deck of playing cards have in common with the El Castillo Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico?

The Maya were ruthless devotee’s of human sacrifice, whose culture was ruled by its Astrology, controlling every aspect of their timekeeping, which organized their lives. As the Mayan priests prepared the human sacrifice, they them to subdue any resistance to their of precious stone, nearly hard as , to cut out the victim’s . This isn’t the primary comparison to playing cards I had in mind, but upon closer inspection we will find compelling evidence revealing a surprising common structure not only in the originof Mayan timekeeping practices, but many ancient calendars in general.
The structure of a deck of playing cards is based on 4 suits, reflected above, of 13 cards each, which when the numbers 1-13 are added, equal 91. The same pattern is seen in the El Castillo Pyramid, with 4 flights of 91 stairs, leading up to the altar at the pinnacle of the Pyramid. These 4 suits of 13 cards when multiplied equal 52, corresponding to the number of weeks in a year of our Gregorian Calendar, whose reflection is seen in the Maya Tzolkin Calendar of 52 years. We find further calendar links in the total of 91 pyramid steps, equaling the number of days per season, times 4 flights totaling 364, which corresponds to the number of days in the year-365, when the Joker Card is added, even as the altar at the Pyramid’s pinnacle caps off the four flights of stairs, for a total of 365.The 52-year Maya Tzolkin calendar consisted of four 13-year periods, each symbolized by a one of five spirit-heads, four of which correlated to the Cardinal Directions, while the 5th linked to the center or apex of the circle in the Calendar Round, representing the Earth. This picture of the El Castillo Pyramid agrees with the figure of the Great Pyramid on the Giza plateau, which was designed as a 1 to 43,200 geometric scale model, of planet Earth. Thus, we get the idea that the pyramid represented not only our planet, but also its seasons and timekeeping practices of these pyramid-building cultures that produced them. The calendars that emerged from these cultures also looked to unify the solar and lunar cycles into a comprehensive system of temporal and spatial order. The face cards of the deck represent the day-gods of the Maya Calendar, designed to rule over the temporal and spiritual order of Mayan culture, typified in the structure of their pyramids and calendars. The deck of playing cards was probably structured as a memory system for this classic luni-solar calendar.

Like the ancient Egyptians, the Maya pyramid-building culture of ancient Mexico had a very advanced Astronomy. They also regularly divided their year into 360 days, called a "tun" and added 5 extra days, called "haab," considered an unlucky period. According to Peter Thompkins, Maya also "calculated the orbit of the Earth about the Sun as 365.2420 days, and marked the close of the year by the erection of a stone they called a tun. They did likewise for a twenty- year cycle or Katun, a period they considered to be governed by the Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn."1[emphasis mine] As we have noted in other sections of this website, the importance of the Jupiter-SaturnConjunction cycle is also recognized in close relation to theprecession of the equinoxes in the Hebrew cosmology evident in Genesis 1:6-10, along the world-views of many ancient cultures including, Sumeria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece and the Mesoamericans.Thompkins continues by saying that; "The Maya had a very special sacred year of 260 days called tzolkin, that the Aztecs called tonalamatl." This 260-day sacred calendar was "divided into 13 months of 20 days, and the multiples of 13 and 20 became the heart of a chronological computation stunning in its simplicity and exactness. A greater cycle of 260 years was 13 consecutive Jupiter-Saturn cycles of 20 years."2[emphasis mine]

This greater 260-year cycle based on the cycle of Jupiter-SaturnConjunctions, was also a tool utilized by the Mayans to break down the very long cycle of the precession of the equinoxes. Thompkins states that the "Maya also had a cycle of 942,890 days, or 2,582 years, that turned out to be 130 Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions."3 Twice this cycle [5,163 years], not only gave the equivalent of the greater 260-year cycle of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions, but 100 of these greater 260-year cycles equalled 26,000 years, often reckoned the length of the precession. With Kepler’s Trigon and the Mayan tzolkin, we have two culturally distinct and seemingly independent views of how Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions subdivided the precession. The amazing visual similarity between the Maya tzolkin wheel, which preceded Kepler’s geometric structure of the Trigon by centuries, is also worth noting, especially in how both calendars include the lunar cycles according to the base 60 number system. This provides an ancient foundation on the Sexegesimal, earth-commensurate standard based on precession, from the Mayan culture. The Trigon unfolds the pattern of the clock face of the precession, opening a new precessional age on average every 2160 years, with the close approach of Jupiter and Saturn to the vernalpoint. With this division of the precession into manageable pieces, we can see how a luni-solar cycle, governed by the phiratio, depicts the universal cosmic order of precessional number factors ruling their calendar, was symbolized in their monumental architecture.

The Astronomy of the ancient Maya civilization also holds some fascinating keys regarding the star Eta Draconis,relating to the Maya Serpent Calendar. Dr. Marian Hatch, an expert on the Maya Serpent Calendar, made some tantalizing connections between the orientation of the serpents on this amazingly detailed calendar, and the positions of the ConstellationDraco, in the northern skies. She discovered that:

"the various snake positions correlated exactly with the path of the ConstellationDraco as it would have appeared in the evening sky2000 years ago. Dr. Hatch noted that the star Etawas unique in that it alone among all the other stars remained virtually unchanged in right ascension for the 2300 years between 1800 BC and 500 AD, regularly transiting across the Meridian at midnight of May 23rd,and November 22nd, with a variation of less than one degree. Thus the star Eta Draconis provided the Maya with an accurate measure of the sidereal year, and a yardstick for comparison between the tropical and sidereal years, as well as an indication of the precessional lag in the other stars…4{emphasis mine}

Dr. Hatch’s research depicts an implied link between the precession of the poles and the precession of the equinoxes, as they are represented both vertical at the North Pole and horizontally on the ecliptic. From the graphic above we will also notice how the bodies of the serpents align with the circular rows of the Maya day-gods, which are depicted as scales on the serpent"s skin. The accuracy of this calendar is unsurpassed in the history of Astronomy, as it incorporates the Venus cycle in correlation with the luni-solar cycles. We will look deeper into the details of this dragon calendar, as it relates to the head and tail of the dragon, its scales and the so called lunar Nodes as we progress in this study, revealing some spiritual implications for the four serpentine Constellations.

To gain true insight into these cultural traditions, the approach of Biblical Archaeo-Astronomydiverges from traditional and conventional views of Archaeology, and Archaeo-Astronomy. The Conventional wisdom has been to view the results of the digs and archaeological sites, from the strictly historical view of the culture and society that produced it, with occasional regional influences considered. Although a good portion of attention has been focused on societal religion, and the religious context & practices that produced these sites, conventional wisdom has not given enough attention to the principles of the world monomyth espoused by Joseph Campbell, in this context. As stated previously, our position is in general agreement with Campbell’s idea of the world monomyth [The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1949] which names Christ as a prime example among others, of the universal hero setting the pattern upon which all cultural hero’s have been formed.5 Due in part to the importance of Astronomy in ancient culture, and the star religions that formed around ancient timekeeping and celestial science, our view is that the astronomical myth and ritual associated with ancient Star religions, is a primary and universal key to understanding the inner workings of cultural archetypes. Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy is of special and unique value here, because of the message and blueprint it carries in the celestial prophecies of Christ, as seen in the planetary unions surrounding the Star of Bethlehem, marking Christ’s birth. The primary caveat here of course, is that based on the Creator’s Intelligent Design, the celestial and angelic announcements of Christ’s birth are viewed as direct messages from the Creator’s Throne-room regarding the long awaited appearance of Christ-God’s Only Begotten Son.
One of the many tenets of Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy is to focus on how numerous star religions have deviated from the original message concerning Christ, the ultimate Hero, written in the Heavens, as taught in the principles of Biblical Astronomy. Some forms of the Astrology that has emerged during this process, have been documented in our website study on "Biblical Astronomy vs. Astrology," which provides important background for this specific study. Instead of trying to understand particular star religions exclusively in their own skewed light, which only masks important truths from coming to the surface, we must shed new light on these practices, preferably based on principles closer to the original, more ancient Astronomy, from which the idol astrological rituals first deviated. In the process we will notice common points that come to light, as these star religions venerated idol relics in place of the original Hero, [Acts 7:43, Rom. 1:21-32]. With this in mind, we present the following topical Bible study on "The Host of Heaven ." This study provides a unique Biblical view of how and why angels have been historically associated with the stars and planets of the heavens, and the impact this has had on various star religions around the world, with their devotees. Once we understand the iconography involved between the angels and the stars, we can trace the substitutions that took place with the day gods of the heathen calendars, and their related timekeeping practices. This study will show the potential of Biblical Archaeo-Astronomy, and the unique perspective God’s Word can provide for this important topic.

The Host of Heaven

The Authentic Protevangelium was the Witness of the Stars. The Celestial Gospel of the Coming Hero-Redeemer: Jesus Christ, was the first gospel written from God to Man. As the signs of the zodiac where the first symbols heralding of the Coming Redeemer, they were transformed into literal idol forms as referenced above in Rom. 1:21ff. This topical study on the "host of heaven" will reveal a primary process whereby this transformation could have occurred, noting examples of the counterfeit star religions that were produced from the original. Biblically, this phrase is utilized in three different senses, first referring to the physical stars, secondly to the angels of the true God, and thirdly to fallen angels. As we will see in the following study, the context of each Biblical usage will reveal the particular shade of meaning this phrase is referring to. The specific usage of this term in its differing context, will reveal howangels became associated with the stars, and how this has been utilized by the enemy to promote the false worship of the stars and their associated fallen angels in calendar systems around the world. In the study that follows, we have included selected references to Keil & Delitzsche’s Commentary; (K&D) where it sheds helpful and detailed light on the text. The general context of this study on the "host of heaven" is set in its first occurrence in Deuteronomy 4:

Deut. 4:15-40 (Deu 4:15) Take ye therefore good heed8104, 3966 unto yourselves;5315 for3588
ye saw7200 no3808 manner3605 of similitude8544 on the day3117that the LORD3068 spoke1696 unto413 you in Horeb2722 out of the midst4480, 8432 of the fire:784

(Deu 4:16) Lest6435 ye corrupt7843yourselves, and make6213 you a graven image,6459 the similitude8544 of any3605 figure,5566 the likeness8403 of male2145 or176 female,5347

(Deu 4:17) The likeness8403 of any3605 beast929 that834is on the earth,776
the likeness8403 of any3605 winged3671 fowl6833 that834 flieth5774 in the air,8064

(Deu 4:18) The likeness8403 of any thing3605 that creepeth7430 on the ground,127 the likeness8403 of any3605 fish1710 that834is in the waters4325 beneath4480, 8478 the earth:776

(Deu 4:19) And lest6435 thou lift up5375 thine eyes5869 unto heaven,8064 and when thou seest7200 (853) the sun,8121 and the moon,3394 and the stars,3556 even all3605 the host6635 of heaven,8064 shouldest be driven5080 to worship7812 them, and serve5647 them, which834 the LORD3068 thy God430 hath divided2505, (853) unto all3605 nations5971 under8478 the whole3605 heaven.8064(Deu 4:20) But the LORD3068 hath taken3947 you, and brought you forth3318, (853) out of
the iron1270 furnace,4480, 3564 even out of Egypt,4480, 4714 to be1961 unto him a people5971 of inheritance,5159 as yeare this2088 day.3117

(Deu 4:24) For3588 the LORD3068 thy God430 is a consuming398 fire,784 even a jealous7067 God.410

Deu 4:25) When3588 thou shalt beget3205 children,1121 and children"s1121 children,1121 and ye shall have remained long3462 in the land,776 and shall corrupt7843 yourselves, and make6213 a graven image,6459 or the likeness8544 of any3605 thing, and shall do6213 evil7451 in the sight5869 of the LORD3068 thy God,430 to provoke him to anger:3707

(Deu 4:33) Did ever people5971 hear8085 the voice6963 of God430 speaking1696 out of the midst4480, 8432 of the fire,784 as834 thou859 hast heard,8085 and live?2421

(Deu 4:34) Or176 hath God430 attempted5254 to go935 and take3947 him a nation1471 from the midst4480, 7130 of another nation,1471 by temptations,4531 by signs,226 and by wonders,4159 and by war,4421 and by a mighty2389 hand,3027 and by a stretched out5186 arm,2220 and by great1419 terrors,4172 according to all3605 that834 the LORD3068 your God430 did6213 for you in Egypt4714 before your eyes?5869

(Deu 4:36) Out of4480 heaven8064 he made thee to hear8085 (853) his voice,6963 that he might instruct3256 thee: and upon5921 earth776 He showed7200 thee (853) his great1419 fire;784 and thou heardest8085 his words1697 out of the midst4480, 8432 of the fire.784

God clearly warns us in verses 15-19, that He never revealed Himself to man via any form in Creation, they only heard His Voice, and saw the results of the powerful signs and wonders whereby He delivered Israel from Egypt, via Moses’ Ministry. God commands Israel specifically, and in no uncertain terms in verse 16; to make NO GRAVEN IMAGE, in the likeness any male or female form of life. In verse 19, reference is made to the host of heaven, which as the verse clearly tells us, is talking about the Sun, Moon & Stars. Here a noteworthy connection is made to the idolatrous aspect of the worship of the stars, which was taking place among the heathen nations that occupied the Promised Land. Thus, in the Pentateuch, we have early reference to the Host of Heaven as the physical stars connected with the false worship in Astrology. Another form this idol worship took was Pantheism & Nature Worship, whose modern manifestation is found in the roots of the Green Movement. Essentially, this puts anything in the Creation above the Creator! One major reason for God’s adamant stand against idolatry is that the incorporeal spirit realm requires a concrete form in the senses realm for men to mentally and physically associate with, in their false worship. It is difficult for people to associate with abstract symbols, but if they have a material form that they can see and touch, then it provides a vehicle and point of access into the personal lives of devotees given over to various types of false worship. The spirit realm is ever lurking behind the facades of idol images, ready to invade their human "hosts," who are conditioned and habitually prepared for the shock troops of the spirit realm associated with various pantheons of false worship. As the devotees become comfortable with the belief systems and ritual practices linked to these idols, it forms the required psychological basis for the habitation of the specific spirits that accompany these false doctrines. Different cultures have employed varied pantheons of idols, that were astrologically associated with stars & planets, but the enemy’s main objective is constant; divert the true worship of God to the false worship of any other object that provides access to peoples’ minds and lives. This is the tactic the enemy has applied for ages, and this strategy based on idolatry, continues in quite successful universal application unto this day.
The latter part of Deut. 4:19 gives a positive aspect of the stars that God has reserved for all humanity as an inheritance. The text implies a systematic knowledge which is available in studying the Sun, Moon & Stars, which will benefit mankind in many ways. This is a primary reason for the Try-God.com website. Deut. 17 continues the context of verse 4, but goes further by including the death penalty for these offenses against God.

(Deu 17:3) And hath gone1980 and served5647 other312 gods,430 and worshiped7812 them, either the sun,8121 or176 moon,3394 or176 any3605 of thehost6635 of heaven,8064 which834 I have not3808 commanded;6680

(Deu 17:4) And it be told5046 thee, and thou hast heard8085 ofit, and inquired1875 diligently, 3190 and, behold,2009 itbe true,571 and the thing1697 certain,3559 that such2063 abomination 8441 is wrought6213 in Israel:3478

(Deu 17:6) Atthe mouth6310 of two8147 witnesses,5707 or176 three7969 witnesses,5707 shall he that is worthy of death4191 be put to death;4191 but at5921 the mouth6310 of one259 witness5707 he shall not3808 be put to death.4191

(Deu 17:7) The hands3027 of the witnesses5707 shall be1961 first7223 upon him to put him to death,4191 and afterward314 the hands3027 of all3605 the people.5971 So thou shalt put the evil away1197, 7451 from among4480, 7130 you.

(K&D) "If such a case should occur, as that a man or woman transgressed the covenant of the Lord and went after other gods and worshipped them; when it was made known, the facts were to be carefully inquired into; and if the charge were substantiated, the criminal was to be led out to the gate and stoned. On the testimony of two or three witnesses, not of one only, he was to be put to death (see at Num. 35:30); and the hand of the witnesses was to be against him first to put him to death, i.e., to throw the first stones at him, and all the people were to follow. With regard to the different kinds of idolatry in Deut. 17:3, see Deut. 4:19. (On Deut. 17:4, see Deut. 13:15.) "Bring him out to thy gates," i.e., to one of the gates of the town in which the crime was committed. By the gates we are to understand the open space near the gates, where the judicial proceedings took place (cf. Neh_8:1, Neh_8:3; Job. Deut. 29:7), the sentence itself being executed outside the town (cf. Deut. 22:24; Act_7:58; Heb_13:12), just as it had been outside the camp during the journey through the wilderness (Levi. 24:14; Num. 15:36), to indicate the exclusion of the criminal from the congregation, and from fellowship with God. The infliction of punishment in Deut. 17:5. is like that prescribed in Deut. 13:10-11, for those who tempted others to idolatry; with this exception, that the testimony of more than one witness was required before the sentence could be executed, and the witnesses were to be the first to lift up their hands against the criminal to stone him, that they might thereby give a practical proof of the truth of their statement, and their own firm conviction that the condemned was deserving of death, - "a rule which would naturally lead to the supposition that no man would come forward as a witness without the fullest certainty or the greatest depravity" (Schnell, das isr. Recht). [Selected Notesfrom Keil & Delitzsch, as all text marked by "K&D" below is.]

Thus we can see the severity of God’s position relative to this form of idolatry, in this first occurrence of the astrological perversions associated with heathen star religions. II Kings 17 continues the context of this aspect of the Host of heaven, but adds the important element that these idol worshippers also served Baal, which led to human sacrifice as indicated by the phrase; "Pass through the fire" below in v. 17. God considered Human Sacrifice as an abomination, as is seen below in II Kings 23:10, compare [Jer. 19:13]. Obviously, the practices of human sacrifice in the religion of the Maya were far preceded in the OT, there is truly nothing newunder the Sun. It is important to see the attitude of God concerning the evils associated with Astrology-punishable by death.

II Kings 17:16-18

(2Ki 17:16) And they left5800 (853) all3605 the commandments4687 of the LORD3068 their God,430 and made6213 them molten images,4541 even two8147 calves,5695 and made6213 a grove,842 and worshiped7812 all3605 the host6635 of heaven,8064 and served5647 (853) Baal.1168

(2Ki 17:17) And they caused (853) their sons1121 and their daughters1323 to pass through 5674 the fire,784 and used7080 divination7081 and enchantments,5172 and sold themselves 4376 to do6213 evil7451 in the sight5869 of the LORD,3068 to provoke him to anger.3707

(2Ki 17:18) Therefore the LORD3068 was very angry599, 3966 with Israel,3478 and removed5493 them out of4480, 5921 his sight:6440 there was none3808 left7604 but7535
the tribe7626 of Judah3063 only.905

BaalWorship was typified by phallus worship and the related sexual debauchery referenced in Romans 1:21-32, which invariably accompanies idol worship of any kind. In an astronomical context, the phallus took the symbolic form of the Earth’s Axis that pointed North, by which proper orientation to the Cardinal Directions was obtained. The Mayan Serpent Calendar reflects the high position accorded the dragon-Draco at the northern polar reaches, located in the center of the heavens, as it was in many star myths around the world, [Job 26:12-13]. This image also carries links to the symbolism of the tree of life, around which the serpent-dragon was coiled, both rooted in the Earth and reaching for the stars of the overarching canopy of the sky. This is part and parcel of the Baal symbolism of the idol "groves" associated with Baal/Ashtoreth worship, and explains many heathen Creation myths that result from the copulation of the gods.

II Kings 21 continues with the evils of King Manasseh, who reinstated Baal worship, which his father had discontinued in Israel. The parallel record is found in II Chronicles 33. The "grove" in verse 3 refers to Astarte, the female goddess linked with Baal. Many times we find forms of these male and female idols associated with the Sun and Moon, depicting the solar [male] and lunar [female] aspects of cultural timekeeping practices [Deut. 4:16, 17:3], that were commonly associated with luni-solar calendars. This is important to see because, not only are the physical stars and the idols referred to here, but specific celestial cycles of the Sun, Moon and Stars, and their exact temporal periods become symbolically linked to the various fallen angels associated with the idols of specific pantheons, like Baal & Astarte. We find further references to Astarte as the "queen of heaven" in [Jer. 7:18, 44:17-19]. One of the modern manifestations of this ancient idolatry, which preserves the active doctrinal connections to the spirit realm, is readily seen in the Roman Catholic worship and veneration of the Madonna.

II Kings 21:1-7
(2Ki 21:1) Manasseh4519 was twelve8147, 6240 years8141 old1121 when he began to reign,4427 and reigned4427 fifty2572 and five2568 years8141 in Jerusalem.3389 And his mother"s517 name8034 was Hephzibah.2657

(2Ki 21:2) And he did6213 thatwhichwas evil7451 in the sight5869 of the LORD,3068 after the abominations8441 of the heathen,1471 whom834 the LORD3068 cast out3423 before4480, 6440 the children1121 of Israel.3478

(2Ki 21:3) For he built up1129 again7725 (853) the high places1116 which834 Hezekiah2396 his father1 had destroyed;6 and he reared up6965 altars4196 for Baal,1168 and made6213 a grove,842 as834 did6213 Ahab256 king4428 of Israel;3478 and worshiped7812 all3605 the host6635 of heaven,8064 and served5647 them.

(2Ki 21:4) And he built1129 altars4196 in the house1004 of the LORD,3068 of which834 the LORD3068 said,559 In Jerusalem3389 will I put7760 (853) my name.8034

(2Ki 21:5) And he built1129 altars4196 for all3605 the host6635 of heaven8064 in the two 8147 courts2691 of the house1004 of the LORD.3068

(2Ki 21:6) And he made (853) his son1121 pass through5674 the fire,784 and observed times,6049 and used enchantments,5172 and dealt6213 with familiar spirits178 and wizards:3049 he wrought6213 much7235 wickedness7451 in the sight5869 of the LORD,3068 to provoke him to anger.3707

(2Ki 21:7) And he set7760 (853) a graven image6459 of the grove842 that834 he had made 6213 in the house,1004 of which834 the LORD3068 said559 to413 David,1732 and to413 Solomon8010 his son,1121 In this2088 house,1004 and in Jerusalem,3389 which834 I have chosen977 out of all4480, 3605 tribes7626 of Israel,3478 will I put7760 (853) my name8034 forever:5769

By putting these idols of the host of heaven in God’s Temple in Jerusalem, the ultimate effrontery was placed directly under the very nose of the Almighty. This idea that the Israelites were wholly given over and dedicated to the idolatrous worship of the Sun, Moon and Stars, in their Astrology is also seen in [Jer. 8:1-2]. The Astrology linked with this form of idolatry based onthe host of heaven, or the angelic hierarchy, was organized according to the temporal order, most commonly seen in the belief systems associated with the calendars and star myths of the day. This theme is carried forward in II Kings 23.

II Kings 23:4-14
(2Ki 23:4) And the king4428 commanded6680 (853) Hilkiah2518 the high1419 priest,3548 and the priests3548 of the second order,4932 and the keepers8104 of the door,5592 to bring forth3318 out of the temple4480, 1964 of the LORD3068 (853) all3605 the vessels3627 that were made6213 for Baal,1168 and for the grove,842 and for all3605 the host6635 of heaven:8064 and he burned 8313 them without4480, 2351 Jerusalem3389 in the fields7709 of Kidron,6939 and carried5375 (853) the ashes6083 of them unto Bethel.1008

(2Ki 23:5) And he put down7673 (853) the idolatrous priests,3649 whom834 the kings4428 of Judah3063 had ordained5414 to burn incense6999 in the high places1116 in the cities5892 of Judah,3063 and in the places round about4524 Jerusalem;3389 them also that burned incense6999 unto Baal,1168 to the sun,8121 and to the moon,3394 and to the planets,4208 and to all3605 the host6635 of heaven.8064

(2Ki 23:6) And he brought out3318 (853) the grove842 from the house4480, 1004 of the LORD, 3068 without4480, 2351 Jerusalem,3389 unto413 the brook5158 Kidron,6939 and burned8313 it at the brook5158 Kidron,6939 and stamped it small1854 to powder,6083 and cast7993 (853) the powder6083 thereof upon5921 the graves6913 of the children1121 of the people.5971

(2Ki 23:7) And he broke down5422 (853) the houses1004 of the sodomites,6945 that834 were by the house1004 of the LORD,3068 where834, 8033 the women802 wove707 hangings1004 for the grove.842

(2Ki 23:8) And he brought935 (853) all3605 the priests3548 out of the cities4480, 5892 of Judah, 3063 and defiled2930 (853) the high places1116 where834, 8033 the priests3548 had burned incense,6999 from Geba4480, 1387 to5704 Beer-sheba,884 and broke down5422 (853) the high places1116 of the gates8179 that834 were in the entering in6607 of the gate8179 of Joshua3091 the governor8269 of the city,5892 which834 were on5921 a man"s376 left hand8040 at the gate8179 of the city.5892

(2Ki 23:9) Nevertheless389 the priests3548 of the high places1116 came not up5927, 3808 to413 the altar4196 of the LORD3068 in Jerusalem,3389 but3588, 518 they did eat398 of the unleavened bread4682 among8432 their brethren.251

(2Ki 23:10) And he defiled2930 (853) Topheth,8612 which834 is in the valley1516 of the children 1121 of Hinnom,2011 that no1115 man376 might make (853) his son1121 or his daughter1323 to passthrough5674 the fire784 to Molech.4432

(2Ki 23:11) And he took away7673 (853) the horses5483 that834 the kings4428 of Judah3063 had given5414 to the sun,8121 at the entering in4480, 935 of the house1004 of the LORD,3068 by413 the chamber3957 of Nathan-melech5419 the chamberlain,5631 which834 was in the suburbs,6503 and burned8313 the chariots4818 of the sun8121 with fire.784

(2Ki 23:12) And the altars4196 that834 were on5921 the top1406 of the upper chamber5944 of Ahaz,271 which834 the kings4428 of Judah3063 had made,6213 and the altars4196 which834 Manasseh4519 had made6213 in the two8147 courts2691 of the house1004 of the LORD,3068 did the king4428 beat down,5422 and broke them down7323 from thence,4480, 8033 and cast7993 (853) the dust6083 of them into413 the brook5158 Kidron.6939

(2Ki 23:13) And the high places1116 that834 were before5921, 6440 Jerusalem,3389 which834 were on the right hand4480, 3225 of the mount2022 of corruption,4889 which834 Solomon8010 the king4428 of Israel3478 had built1129 for Ashtoreth6253 the abomination8251 of the Zidonians,6722 and for Chemosh3645 the abomination8251 of the Moabites,4124 and for Milcom4445 the abomination8441 of the children1121 of Ammon,5983 did the king4428 defile.2930

(2Ki 23:14) And he brokein pieces7665 (853) the images,4676 and cut down3772 (853) the groves,842 and filled4390 (853) their places4725 with the bones6106 of men.120

Here the record shows the righteous King of Israel ordering the removal of all the evil influence of the various idols being worshipped in the Temple of the True God. This included the "houses of the sodomites" [v. 7] which again, is included in [Romans 1:21-32] referring to one result of this idolatry. These are the worst of the evils referred to here, all considered abominations by God.The idol fires of Molech consumed the children of idolatrous Israel, who stood against God’s Commandments given through the Lawgiver Moses. God called Moses to His Mountaintop via the divine flames of the burning bush, a flame that needs no fuel to burn its consummate light, but a pure and cherished flame, a new paradigm of fire, at once harmonized with nature, while enlightening the minds of men. The highest embodiment of this divine flame is seen in the glorious light of Christ, the Bright and Morning Star, who has freed the hearts and minds of men captive in the chains of darkness, who is the daystar arising in their hearts… [II Pet. 1:19].
Verse 5 above includes a reference which the KJV calls the planets, but the Hebrew word most likely refer to the signs and Constellations of the zodiac. This is one of the few overt Biblical references to the 12 Zodiacal signs as part of the Host of Heaven ina celestial context [cp. Job 38:31-33]. This aspect of the host of heaven changes in Nehemiah 9:6-8, where it overtly refers to the Godly Angels.

Neh. 9:6-8(Neh 9:6) Thou,859 even thou,1931 art LORD3068 alone;905 thou859 hast made6213 (853) heaven,8064 the heaven8064 of heavens,8064 with all3605 their host,6635 the earth,776 and all3605 things that834 are therein,5921 the seas,3220 and all3605 that834 is therein, and thou859 preservest2421 (853) them all;3605 and the host6635 of heaven8064 worshipeth7812 thee.

(Neh 9:7) Thou859 art the LORD3068 the God,430 who834 didst choose977 Abram,87 and broughtest him forth3318 out of Ur4480, 218 of the Chaldees,3778 and gavest7760 him the name8034 of Abraham;85

(Neh 9:8) And foundest4672 (853) his heart3824 faithful539 before6440 thee, and madest3772 a covenant1285 with5973 him to give5414 (853) the land776 of the Canaanites,3669 the Hittites,2850 the Amorites,567 and the Perizzites,6522 and the Jebusites,2983 and the Girgashites,1622 to give5414 it,Isay, to his seed,2233 and hast performed6965 (853) thy words;1697 for3588 thou859 art righteous:6662

(K&D) "In Neh. 9:6 this praising of God begins with the acknowledgment that Jehovah, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, chose Abram and made a covenant with him to give the land of Canaan to his seed, and had performed this word (Neh. 9:6-8). These verses form the theme of that blessing the name of His glory, to which the Levites exhorted. This theme is then elucidated by facts from Israel"s history, in four strophes. a. When God saw the affliction of His people in Egypt, He delivered them by great wonders and signs from the power of Pharaoh, gave them laws and judgments on Sinai, miraculously provided them with food and water in the wilderness, and commanded them to take possession of the promised land (Neh. 9:9-15). b. Although their fathers rebelled against Him, even in the wilderness, God did not withdraw His mercy from them, but sustained them forty years, so that they lacked nothing; and subdued kings before them, so that they were able to conquer and possess the land (Neh. 9:16-25). c. After they settled in the land they rebelled again, and God delivered them into the hand of their oppressors; but as often as they cried unto Him, He helped them again, till at length, because of their continued opposition, He gave them into the power of the people of the lands, yet of His great mercy did not wholly cast them off (Neh. 9:26-31). d. May He now too look upon the affliction of His people, as the God that keepeth Covenant and Mercy, although they have deserved by their sins the troubles they are suffering (Neh_9:32-37)."7

The reference above [Neh. 9:6] to the heaven of heavens and all their host, pertains to the very dwelling place of the Almighty, of which the earthly temple is a mere physical shadow. The host associated with this heaven of heavens, are the Godly Angels that minister directly to the Creator [Ps. 104:3-4], and have done so since the angels were in their first estate [Jude 1:6], prior to Lucifer’s revolt [Job 38:7] and the ruin of the First Heavensand Earth. Since there is no Biblical reference to the Creation of Angels during the Genesis Creation Week, they could only have been created prior to the time when the Heavens and Earth became with-out form and void [Gen. 1:2], because God in all His Perfect Wisdom certainly did not speak Creation into existence in chaos, but it was only put into this state as a result of the rebellion of Lucifer and his third of the angels, which were cast out of heaven as a result of the war that ensued [Rev. 12:3-9]. We will look at the orders and organization of these angelic ministering spirits in more detail as this study progresses.

The Covenant that God has kept with Israel, started with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, [Gen. 15:5], with its foundations in Noah & Adam. This Covenant is tied into the Order of Creation that God instituted with His system of Natural Law during the Creation Week. We find evidence of this pact in the Covenant of Day and Night, which set the timekeeping standards of God’s temporal order, by which the angels themselves are also ordered. If the covenant of the stars is broken by man, the covenant of man's seed was negatively impacted also. This was the original pattern established by the Creator, but corrupted in the astrologically inspired heathen calendars, given over to the idols and heathen day-gods. The context of this original Covenant is carried forward in Jer. 33:20-22 below.

(Jer 33:20) Thus3541 saith559 the LORD;3068 If518 ye can break6565 (853) my covenant 1285 of the day,3117 and my covenant1285 of the night,3915 and that there should not1115 be1961 day3119 and night3915 in their season;6256

(Jer 33:21) Then may also1571 my covenant1285 be broken6565 with854 David1732 my servant,5650that he should not have4480, 1961 a son1121 to reign4427 upon5921 his throne;3678 and with854 the Levites3881 the priests,3548 my ministers.8334

(Jer 33:22) As834 the host6635 of heaven8064 cannot3808 be numbered,5608 neither3808 the sand2344 of the sea3220 measured:4058 so3651 will I multiply7235 (853) the seed 2233 of David1732 my servant,5650 and the Levites3881 that minister unto8334 me.

The 148th Psalm below sets a distinction between the praise of the angels in verse 2, as opposed to the praise of the Sun, Moon and Stars of light. It also sets the decrees of the Creator which He spoke into being [ex-nihilo-without previous existence or raw materials], even as he established His Covenants with man. The same power of God that upholds all Creation, is also the power behind King David’s throne. The ministers and priests to David’s throne are thus likened to the angelic ministers of God’s Throne.

Psalm 148(Psa 148:1) Praise1984 ye the LORD.3050 Praise1984 ye (853) the LORD3068 from4480 the heavens:8064 praise1984 him in the heights.4791

(Psa 148:5) Let them praise1984 (853) the name8034 of the LORD:3068 for3588
He1931 commanded,6680 and they were created.1254

(Psa 148:6) He hath also established5975 them forever5703 and ever:5769 He
hath made5414 a decree2706 which shall not3808 pass.5674

(K&D) "The call does not rise step by step from below upwards, but begins forthwith from above in the highest and outermost spheres of creation. The place whence, before all others, the praise is to resound is the heavens; it is to resound in the heights, viz., the heights of heaven (Job 16:19; Job 25:2; Job 31:2). This might, it is true, also denote the birth or origin: ye of the heavens, i.e., ye celestial beings (cf. Psa. 68:27), but the parallel renders the immediate construction with more natural. Ps. 148:2-4 tell who are to praise Jehovah there: first of all, all His angels, the agents of the Ruler of the world - all His host, i.e., angels and stars,(Chethîb) or (Kerî as in Psa. 103:21) is the name of the heavenly host armed with light which God Tsebaoth commands (Gen. 2:1), - a name including both stars (e.g., in Deut. 4:19) and angels (Jos. 5:14., 1Ki. 22:19); angels and stars are also united in the Scriptures in other instances (e.g., Job 38:7). When the psalmist calls upon these beings of light to praise Jehovah, he does not merely express his delight in that which they do under any circumstances (Hengstenberg), but comprehends the heavenly world with the earthly, ( Ps. 29:1-11; Ps 103), and gives a special turn to the praise of the former, making it into an echo of the praise of the latter, and blending both harmoniously together. The heavens of heavens are, as in Deut. 10:14; 1Ki. 8:27, and frequently, those which lie beyond the Heavens of the Earth which were created on the Fourth Day, therefore they are the outer-most and highest spheres. The waters which are above the heavens are, according to Hupfeld, "a product of the fancy, like the upper heavens and all the inhabitants of heaven."
But if in general the other world is not a notion to which there is no related entity, this notion may also have things for its substance which lie beyond our knowledge of nature. The Scriptures, from the first page to the last, acknowledge the existence of celestial waters, to which the rain-waters stand in the relation as it were of a finger-post pointing upwards (see Gen. 1:7). All these beings belonging to the super-terrestrial world are to praise the Name of Jehovah, for He, is the God of Israel. ( Psa_33:9) [emphasis mine]

(Note: The interpolated parallel member,the heavens and all their host are created (Psa_33:6). He has set them, which did not previously exist, up ( Neh. 6:7,Ps. 33:9, cf. Ps. 119:91), and that for ever and ever (Ps. 111:8), i.e., in order for ever to maintain the position in the whole of creation which He has assigned to them. He hath given a law by which its distinctive trait is stamped upon each of these heavenly beings, and a fixed bound is set to the nature and activity of each in its mutual relation to all, and not one transgresses (the individualizing singular) this law given to it." 8

As we can see from the above example in Psalm 148, a clear distinction is made between the angels and the physical stars, but this is not always so. Since the physical world is often by God’s Intelligent Design, a shadow of the spiritual world, we see that the physical stars are many times the concrete image of angelic spirits. In some cases as we have already seen, the reference to the Host of Heaven can refer figuratively to both the physical stars, and the fallen angels as we see in Isaiah below. The commentary fromKeil & Delitzsche is revealing on this comparison below.

(Isa 34:4) And all3605 the host6635 of heaven8064 shall be dissolved,4743 and the heavens 8064 shall be rolled together1556 as a scroll:5612 and all3605 their host6635 shall fall down,5034 as the leaf5929 falleth off5034 from the vine,4480, 1612 and as a falling5034 fig from the fig tree.4480, 8384

(K&D) "The judgment foretold by Isaiah also belongs to the last things; for it takes place in connection with the simultaneous destruction of the present heaven and the present earth." And all the host of the heavens moulder away, and the heavens are rolled up like a scroll, and all their host withers as a leaf withers away from the vine, and like withered leaves from the fig-tree" (Namaq, to be dissolved into powder (Isa_3:24; Isa. 5:24); nago (for nagal, like nazo¯l in Isa. 63:19; Isa. 64:2, and naro in Ecc. 12:6), to be rolled up - a term applied to the cylindrical book-scroll. The heaven, that is to say, the present system of the universe, breaks up into atoms, and is rolled up like a book that has been read through; and the stars fall down as a withered leaf falls from a vine, when it is moved by even the lightest breeze, or like the withered leaves shaken from the fig-tree. The expressions are so strong, that they can not be understood in any other sense than as relating to the end of the world (Isa. 65:17; Isa. 66:22; cp. Mat_24:29). It is not sufficient to say that "the stars appear to fall to the earth," though even Vitringa gives this explanation.

When we look, however, at the following ki (for), it undoubtedly appears strange that the prophet should foretell the passing away of the heavens, simply because Jehovah judges Edom. But Edom stands here as the representative of all powers that are hostile to the church of God as such, and therefore expresses an idea of the deepest and widest cosmic signification (as Isa. 24:21 clearly shows). And it is not only a doctrine of Isaiah himself, but a biblical doctrine universally, that God will destroy the present world as soon as the measure of the sin which culminates in unbelief, and in the persecution of the congregation of the faithful, shall be really full."9

In the same sense as above, the stars of the physical heavens represent the fallenangels at the same time these physical stars actually fall to their demise at the end of the Second Heavens and Earth. We find a similar sense of this figurative language in Rev. 12:3-4, where the Dragon draws a third of the stars of heaven in his tail, and casts them down to the earth. As we have documented in our website studies, these stars of heaven coincide with the DraconidMeteor shower that surrounded the celestial signs of 9-11-3 BC, [Rev. 12:1-2] marking the birth of Christ. In Rev. 12:3-4, the Meteor shower was a precursor to the demise of the Dragon’s kingdom, which was written in the scroll f the heavens long before the birth of the Messiah took place. Thus, we can see the prophecy of the actual demise of the fallen angels figuratively linked with the corruption of the physical elements that constitute the stars of the firmament. With this type of Biblical usage relating to the Host of Heaven, it is easy to see how there could be confusion as to which aspect of this term is being referenced, which is why we must allow each contextual usage of the host of heaven to speak for itself. If we can see the original order and hierarchy of angels, it will help to grasp how the enemy has marshaled his forces. The enemy is not original in his thinking, but he is parasitic in nature only taking what the Almighty has done and corrupting it. What follows will provide a basis from which we can understand the order of fallen angels, which is based on a corrupted form of the Angelic Orders of their First Estate. The next section will also illustrate the warring factions of heaven, the fallen angels and the angels of the True God.
We will initiate this aspect of our study with a related idea introduced above, noting that God’s Word compares the heavens to a scroll, in Isaiah 34. Strong’s Concordance indicates the Hebrew word for "Scroll" refers to a written book of evidence, which in many aspects, is what the Astronomy of the celestial witness is. It sheds a 3-fold light upon the Earth of the spiritual witness of the Coming Redeemer, along with the undeniable physical and scientific evidence of the Creator’s Intelligent Design of Creation. This is part of the heritage that God has given to all the nations of the Earth as an inheritance [Deut. 4:19], which constitutes the primary theme of this website.

It may not seem appropos to think of the vast space of the Universe in these terms, and from our perspective as humans, it isn’t! Our scientific advancement has barely gotten out of the crib, so to speak, when we consider that only 80 years ago our best scientists thought the Milky Way Galaxy WAS the Universe! It wasn’t until Edwin Hubble came along, who developed the Hubble constant as seen in the Hubble deep field pictured above, that we saw galaxies in the heavens outside of our own, and even though we have come a long way in the last 80 years, we still don’t commonly think of the heavens as a scroll. This gives us an example of the difference between God’s viewpoint as opposed to man’s. The Creator provided us this scroll as an important element in a larger picture of His Book on The Divine Science of Creation. This Scroll of Creation written in the heavens is a primary volume of the Creator's Gospel, written in the Stars. This is the true purpose underlying Biblical Astronomy, which provides a fundamental chapter in this book, together with the Creator"s Sacred Geometry, and how he utilizes certain Constants of Creation like the pi and phi ratio, Fibonacci Series and Lucas numbers in a vast scale invariant Symmetry including all Creation from the micro to the macro, that defies explanations of Darwinistic evolution. The Principles of the Creator"s Intelligent Design are evident in His Purposes!! It is the Creator"s precision in executing this plan of Creation, which makes the point that these divine purposes being carried out in His Creation, negate the notion that this massive mountain of scientific evidence is the result of random "chance." These elements of the Creator"s plan show that His plan is deliberate and preconcieved with a Wisdom far beyond mortal origin, forming a code of intelligently designed content, that far exceeds any random signals or chaotic noise. The DNA code is a primary biological illustration of this. This code didn't occur by accident, it took the genius of an exceedingly Wise Programmer.
Lets take a quick detour, to consider some of the other ways God refers to the heavens in His Word. We will start by looking at some elements of Israel’s Tabernacle, a primary Biblical analogy of how the Creator has patterned certain dimensions of His Creation. This section provides an adjunct to the material found in our website study on: "The Celestial Symbolism of the Hebrew Temple and Tabernacle." Israel’s "Tabernacle of Witness" was a temporary and mobile tent structure designed by God, to house the Ark of the Covenant, the primary symbol of God’s presence among His chosen people, in the Old Testament. The Celestial Scroll of the witness of the stars, was the first gospel written by the Creator’s Hand in His Creation, addressed primarily to the Biblical Patriarchs, but also as a heritage for all mankind. This starry Scroll was also illustrated in Israel’s Tabernacle for the Hebrews under Moses. One aspect of the Tabernacle’s celestial plan is found in the edifice of the wooden framework, providing a framework upon which the Tabernacle’s curtains hung. The Biblical record is found in Exodus 26.
Exodus 26:1-131 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle withten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them. 2The length of one curtainshall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure. 3The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and otherfive curtainsshall be coupled one to another. 4And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. 5 Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another. 6 And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle. 7 And thou shalt make curtainsof goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. 8 The length of one curtainshall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure. 9 And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle. 10 And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtainthat is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. 11 And thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. 12 And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle. 13 And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.

Isaiah 40:21-2221 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

One of the Biblical definitions of this word “stretcheth” [H5186] is to expand. This is interesting when we consider that modern science has confirmed that the heavens are indeed expanding, according to the Hubble constant that is named after the 20th Century American Astronomer, Edwin Hubble, who discovered the redshift associted with the distant galaxies that are moving away from Earth at increasingly higher speeds. This truth has been concealed in Scripture for over two thousand years waiting for man’s science to catch up, as in numerous other areas. Another key example of this from verse 22 is the reference to the “circle of the Earth,” as seen from the lunar surface above, long before men were aware of the Earth as a circular globe. Any truth that science uncovers will never contradict God’s Word. Let’s continue with Isaiah 45.

Isaiah 45:23-24 23 Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel. 24Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earthby myself;

Here God emphasizes His Omnipotence, because the Almighty didn’t need any help when He made all things, stretching forth the heavens alone, and spread abroad the earth by Himself, not by some evolutionary conjecture of an accretion disc. He is the only One, Who could ever pull this off, so why are people so stubborn in giving Him the credit only He deserves? This theme continues in Isaiah 51.

Isaiah 51:12-1612 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; 13And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor? 14The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail. 15But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name. 16And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

Verse 15 is one of many figurative references to "the sea" and its roaring waves indicating the spirit realm, which was at the commant of the Almighty.Verse 16 says God “may plant the heavens.” In the Hebrew the sense is of pitching a tent. We have already seen this come up in Isa. 40:22, where God “spread out the heavens as a tent to dwell in,” not to mention Psalm 19:4, where the theme of a celestial tent is also evident. The vast expanding Universe of God’s Creation, whose depths modern science has not yet fathomed, continue receding from us on Earth, as a powerful witness to the Almighty, Who set the Stars of the Firmament in their preordained paths before the world began. For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, this witness of God’s Heavenly Scroll, is all the scientific evidence required as proof of His eternal power, that He alone is the Head God-Creator, not the idols of man’s religious musings, [Rom. 1:19-20]. Another Biblical figure that depicts the heavens is seen in Ezekiel’s four Cherubim.

Ezekiel reveals some enlightening details along these lines, relating these four “living creatures,” identified with the Cherubim in Ezekiel 1&10. This will provide more details on certain classes of the angels in their capacity as ministering spirits to God, and clear up some of the confusion of the classification of angels that has arisen from religious and mystical teachings. To begin with, we want to take notice of the numerical order of the Cherubim as they are distributed on the colored curtains inside Israel’s Tabernacle. We see a seven-fold pattern of Cherubim on the four curtain-walls of the Tabernacle’s interior, leading to and including the Veil at the entrance to the holiest of all, containing the Ark of the Covenant.

Ezekiel 1:13-26(Eze 1:13) As for the likeness1823 of the living creatures,2416 their appearance4758was like burning1197 coals1513 of fire,784and like the appearance4758 of lamps:3940 it1931 went up and down1980 among996 the living creatures;2416 and the fire784 was bright,5051 and out of4480 the fire784 went forth3318 lightning.1300(Eze 1:14) And the living creatures2416 ran7519 and returned7725 as the appearance4758 of a flash of lightning.965(Eze 1:15) Now as I beheld7200 the living creatures,2416 behold2009 one259 wheel212 upon the earth776 by681 the living creatures,2416 with his four702 faces.6440(Eze 1:16) The appearance4758 of the wheels212 and their work4639was like unto the color5869 of a beryl:8658and they four702 had one259 likeness:1823 and their appearance 4758 and their work4639was as834 it were1961 a wheel212 in the middle8432 of a wheel.212(Eze 1:17) When they went,1980 they went1980 upon5921 their four702 sides:7253and they turned5437 not3808 when they went.1980(Eze 1:18) As for their rings,1354 they were so high1363 that they were dreadful;3374 and their rings1354were full4392 of eyes5869 round about5439 them four.702(Eze 1:19) And when the living creatures2416 went,1980 the wheels212 went1980 by681 them: and when the living creatures2416 were lifted up5375 from4480, 5921 the earth,776 the wheels212 were lifted up.5375(Eze 1:20) Whithersoever5921, 834, 8033 the spirit7307 was1961 to go,1980 they went,1980 thither8033wastheir spirit7307 to go;1980 and the wheels212 were lifted up5375 over against5980 them: for3588 the spirit7307 of the living creature2416was in the wheels.212(Eze 1:21) When those went,1980these went;1980 and when those stood,5975these stood;5975 and when those were lifted up5375 from4480, 5921 the earth,776 the wheels212 were lifted up5375 over against5980 them: for3588 the spirit7307 of the living creature2416was in the wheels.21222And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the color of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. 23And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. 24And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings. 25And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings. 26And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

It is noteworthy that these Cherubim are associated with the voice of the Almighty, which originates from the Throne in the expanse above their heads. The imagery of these ministering angels “carrying” the throne of God, as “He rode on the wings of the wind,” as seen in the 18th Psalm below, is powerful when we consider the “wheels” associated with the movement of these angels, in Ezek. 10 & 11. Nowhere except the parallel record [II Sam. 22:10-11] does this Biblical imagery of God “riding upon the Cheubim,” His light piercing the dark waters of the great deep come alive more than in the 18th Psalm below.

8There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. 10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. 13The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. 14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. 15When the channels of water were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.16 He sent from above, he took me, He drew me out of many waters. 17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. 18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. 19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

As God heard David’s prayer out of His celestial Temple, so He hears our prayers today. He will not hesitate to answer the Church’s prayers in time of need, as is evident in the speed with which He flew on the wings of theCherubim, to deliver King David. As the Cherubim accompany the presence of the Heavenly Father in His celestial temple, so they are depicted in the earthly Temple and Tabernacle also. The idea of the Cherubim being sewn into the Tabernacle’s curtains, is noteworthy considering what we have seen already, regarding the stellar significance associated with their four faces depicting the Cardinal Directions. As we have noted, their four faces correspond to the signs of thezodiac at the four-corners of the heavens, while also being a critical element in guarding God’s throne-room. The Cherubim also carry symbolic weight regarding the cycle of the precession of the equinoxes because their four faces/signs function as precessional markers for the Age of Taurus, as seen in Numbers 23-24. Since the cycle of precession serves as the timepiece of Cosmic Ages, these symbolic aspects of the Cherubim serve to harmonize space-time in the Creator’s Intelligent Design of His Creation, and like the Great Pyramid, it serves as a temporal key to the ages of precession and related Biblical administrations. This is a key in opening our understanding, because Israel’s Tabernacle housed the Ark of the Covenant in the holiest of all, signifying the presence of Jehovah in a Covenant relationship with His chosen people, as the central purpose for all Creation. As the Cherubim overspread the Mercy-seat that covered the Ark, their function as guardians is realized, as it is in their image depicted upon the Veil into the Holiest of all. Verses 16-17 refer to the David's spiritual enemies who surrounded him with "many waters" which were too strong for him by himself, but with God's help he overcame.

This idea is supported in the four colors of the Tabernacle’s curtains hanging on its internal walls. The four colors employed in the Tabernacle; red, blue, purple and white, alternated in succession in the said curtains, completing a circuit around the walls inside the Tabernacle. James Strong, of Strong’s Concordance fame, gives us an idea of the perfect order of how the Cherubim were depicted on these colored curtains of the Tabernacle, in accordance with the wooden planks of the Tabernacle’s walls;

”As the full planks are each 1&1/2 cubits wide, with a knob and loop to each, and as the joined sheets are each twice as long as the entire circuit of planks, it follows that every looped portion assigned to plank must be 3 cubits long, which allows exactly one cubit for each of the component stripes of color. Now since the flat panels of violet, containing the figure of the cherubim, are each to be 5/6ths of a cubit wide between the ends of the loops that stretch them out, or a full cubit including the loops and their eyelets, there are left two cubits for the other two colors, one on each slope of the intervening fold of cloth… each of these separate curtains was 28 cubits long, giving nine full series of colors, {9x3=27}, with a surplus cubit {28} for an entire stripe, which must have fallen short or been redundant at one end or the other.”10

The nine full series of colored curtains above, yielding 27 cubits, with the surplus cubit marking the 28th, is a symbolic recognition of the Sidereal Lunar Month, which is counted against the backdrop of the stars, in the time it takes for the Moon to return to the same stars in the sky. This sidereal month is 27.322 days, the period marked between the 27th and 28th in the series of colored curtains, during which time the Earth travels 1/13th of its annual orbit around the Sun. This is another way to understand the 364-day year of 13 months of 28 days, while depicting the lunar symbolism as the lesser light rules the night. This divine pattern of the Tabernacle given to Moses by revelation from God, exhibits a perfect luni-solarSymmetry between the 4 colored curtains, with the cherubim shown on them, and the wooden planks of its walls. This shows an aspect of the laws of heaven [cherubim/ curtains] reigning on earth [wooden planks]. A reflection Symmetry is noted here, due to the four colored curtains mirroring each other as they complete their circuit around the Tabernacle walls, even as the light of the Moon reflects Sun light on the Earth. This pattern is indicated by James Strong below;

"Thus, the reversal of the order of the stripes on the opposite sides of the room is so compensated by the change in the panels at the corners that strict regularity is maintained throughout the entire series, and yet complete correspondence in the position of the 20 violet cherubim-panels on each side, and seven at the end...This will give exactly seven cherubim to each side, and the same number to the rear of the Most Holy Place, and 14 to each side & the adjoining half of the Veil in the Holy Place, while the 2 on the Mercy Seat correspond to the two on the Veil; in no instance a cherub on two colors at once. Moreover, if the Veil itself be made to consist of two broad stripes {purple & Crimson} for its 2 cherubim, respectively, with a half stripe of violet on either edge like all the other door screens, this will complete the circuit of the colors continuously in their uniform order around the three sides of the Holy Place, as well as those of the Most Holy.”11

This shows the divine seven-fold pattern of the order of Cherubim according to their regular distribution around the four colored curtains of the Tabernacle walls of both the Holy Place, and the Holy of the Holies. As we find this pattern in the earthly Tabernacle, so we also find it in the Heavenly Tabernacle, as Revelation 15 reveals.

The pattern of the 7 angels of God in relation to the four “beasts” or living creatures, depicting the 4 Cardinal Directions is upheld in the heavenly Tabernacle even as we see in its earthly model. This 7 x 4 pattern yielding 28 also relates to the lunar cycle, & aligns to the solar cycle as we will see below in the Tabernacle structure. The enemy continues to parasitically follow the original order set down by the Almighty, in ordering and marshalling his legions of fallen angels. As we have seen the pattern of seven repeated in the fallen angelic orders, we also find an image of “four beasts” resembling the "dragon decans" or serpent monsters [Draco, Hydra, Cetus, & Serpens] in the starry canvasses of the night sky. As we take a closer look at the Biblical significance of these four colors in the Tabernacle, we will begin to get an idea of the depth of this symbolism, along with its rendition by the god of this world.

Tabernacle Colors

We cansee this four-fold pattern carried further in the four colors of the tabernacle, as they embody together the four-fold ministry of Jesus Christ as the chief corner-stone in the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, showing his dominion over all Creation. As we have seen, the four celestial pillars/cherubim correspond to the four Cardinal Directions, known as the equinox and Solstice, seen on the eclipticand Equatorat the four-corners of the heavens. These four cardinal points correspond to the tribes, zodiacal signs and colors as follows:

The vision of Ezekiel at the river Chebar describes these living creatures, specifically their four faces, matching the signs of the four Cardinal Directions of the heavens. As we have noted regarding the North, it was omitted, as only 3 sides of the Tabernacle are disclosed regarding the order of its Curtains. In the North we find the face of the sign Aquila the Eagle [Ezek.1:10], replacing that of his natural born enemy, the Scorpion/ serpent, as is evident in the triple signOphiuchus as he wrestles Serpens the serpent, representing the dragon who fell from his first estate as a lead archangel of God.The gap opened by this fall, will be superseded by the authority of Christ over his Body-the Church, including not only this authority over human kingdoms but angelic kingdoms also. This consistent pattern of four continues throughout the world order as seen in the four basic alchemical elements: earth, wind, fire & water. This also carries over into the four states of matter: liquid, solid, gas and Plasma, not to mention the 4 forces of nature: Gravitational force, Electromagnetic force, Weak Nuclear force and Strong Nuclear force. This basic pattern of nature is not only witnessed in the ministry of angels, but in Christ’s ministry also, as reflected in the 4 gospels above. Thus when we view the two phases of the Return of the Promised Seed, first in his sufferings second in his glory, we can see the following division along the lines of Jesus" ministry as seen in the four gospels:

Sufferings

He came as a man/Son of Man/Luke/Aquarius
He sacrificed his life/Servant/Mark/ Eagle for Scorpion

Glory

The Son coming in judgment/Son of God/John/Taurus
The Lion-king of Judah rending his prey/King/Matthew/Leo

These symbolic references to the four quarters of heaven, seen in the four unified faces of the Cherubim, represents a composite of the celestial/tabernacle narrative, that witnesses to the return of the promised redeemer, and his judgment on the assembly of the wicked.

Tabernacle Structure

As we saw earlier in Exodus 26, verses 15-30 continue with a description of the wooden boards constituting the Tabernacle’s outer structure. This framework was assembled from 48 boards, each ten cubits high, and 1.5 cubits wide... This mirrors the structure of the 12 zodiacal signs including their 36 decans (12+36=48), divided into segments of 10°. This shows not only an evident celestial plan in the tabernacle of the sun [Ps. 19:4], marking the solar year, but also marks the Tabernacle, or tent as the focal point of the celestial & spiritual light of God’s presence on Earth during the Old Testament Law period. This pattern appears also in the priestly order of service, later instituted in the Temple by King David, with the 24 courses of priests each serving two times during Israel’s calendar year, totaling 48 weeks. When the 3 weeks of Passover, Pentecost and Feast of Tabernacles are included, wherein all the priests served, this gives us 51 weeks of Israel’s luni-solar year, divided according to its sacred and the civil services. This exceeds the 354-day lunar year, but is still 1 week short of the 52 week solar year, until corrected by the periodic Intercalation of the extra month of Adar, to make up for Israel’s regular holidays falling out-of-synch with the seasons. The sacred year began in Nisan with the springPassover, and the civil year in the fall, started with Tishri 1, the Day of Trumpets, signaling the onset of the holiest 7th month. The separate weeks of this luni-solar year were also ordered according to the 50-yearJubilee cycle, as we haveseen before, unifying the cycles of the Sun and Moon according to the Symmetry of the phiratio. We can see hints of this temporal order based on the number 50, in the fifty loops and taches that coupled the Tabernacle’s curtains together, making it one tabernacle. [Exod 26: 5-6,10-11]. The unity of Israel’s Tabernacle is expressed in the coupling of its curtains through fifty loops, as the unity of the celestial cycles of the two great lights of the Sun and Moon, is summarized in the Jubilee. Thus we find a divine answer to this universal problem in timekeeping, getting the Lunar orbit around the Earth to mathematically blend with the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. The fifty-year Jubilee cycle epitomized the ideal unity of the divine temporal order, symbolized in the details of the Tabernacle’s structure. This was God’s answer to solving the problems related to the coordination of the Luni-Solar cycle, according to the phi ratio. Thus the sacred architecture and services of the Hebrew Tabernacle embody the threefold light of Creation, reflected in the celestial structure of the heavens, and the Jubilee cycle, ruling over Israel’s temporal order. Ultimately this pattern is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, as the King and High Priest after the order of Melchisedek. We must point out however, that although this is God’s perfect answer to the correlation of the lunar and solar cycles, this was not always realized or practiced by the Judeans. As we will see regarding the Jubilee Calendar applied by the Essenes, or Qumran sect, they held to a strict interpretation of the Jubilee Calendar, where the seven days of the week remained in a constant relationship with the days of the month, which kept a consistent association between the fasts and festivals of the Essenes, in relation to the original days these events were ordained by the Creator.
The order of the four colored curtains on the walls inside the Tabernacle depict a seven-fold order of Cherubim on three sides of the Tabernacle, with the fourth side of the entrance in pregnant silence, awaiting its future completion. We will find additional significance in the 7x4 numerical order of the Cherubim reflected above as our study continues. Our view of the order of godly angels in the Tabernacle above brings us to a third category of this study on the Host of Heaven dealing with Godly Angels.Luke 2 provides an example below.

These Godly angels are led by the Archangels Michael and Gabriel even as the fallen angels are led by the Dragon, as seen in Rev. 12:1-9. Our view of these godly angels, in this study will be in the context of their ongoing battle against the evil angels or devil spirits, who were cast down with the dragon from heaven. This record provides a key example of the relationship between the how the stars are symbols of Draco the dragon and his spirit realm of fallen angels, an important element of our study of the “Host of Heaven.” Michael [one who is like God] brings God’s authority and stands for God’s people against the dark spiritual forces of the Dragon’s world kingdom of fallen angels, [Jude 9] in the spiritual warfare currently being waged, as seen in Revelation 12.

(Rev 12:2) And2532 she being with child2192, 1722, 1064 cried,2896 travailing in birth,5605 and2532 pained928 to be delivered.

The great wonder in heaven here refers to a celestial sign, which is confirmed by the mention here of the Sun, Moon & Stars. The only woman, or female sign of the zodiacis Virgo, which actually has 12 literal stars around her head, but also is the first sign of the Biblical zodiac as it is figuratively and monumentally preserved in the head of The Great Sphinx.

The word “appeared” [G3700] refers to a detailed gaze of fascination, noting its structure and function as something to be wondered at. These verses will teach us much about the order of the spirit realm, or Dragon’s Kingdom of fallen angel’s if we pay attention. The 2nd “wonder of heaven,” is a celestial sign like the previous verse, but referring to a different kind of sign,a circumpolar called Draco the Dragon set by the Creator at the northern Celestial Pole [Job 26:13]. This is the first of 13 uses of “dragon” in the Book of Revelation, indicative of the disorderly and rebellious nature of the fiery Red Dragon. Once again we find the seven fold order of the Dragon’s spirit kingdom referenced in the Dragon’s 7 heads along with the 7 crowns upon his 7 heads. These 7 heads imply 7 ruling [unclean spirits-daimon; Revelation 16:13-14] who embody a leading aspect of the Dragon’s power over his earthly kingdom, as we will see below in Dan. 10.

Here we have the dragon’s head associated with its tail, since the tail always does what the head tells it to do. In the graphic above from "Apian"s Astronomicum Caesareum," [Ingolstadt 1540 AD] depicting the alternating head & tail of the dragon, we find 27 [9x3] points on the circle around the central dragon. This relates directly to the lunar calendar, or theDraconic Month, also known in Astrology as the Head & Tail of the Dragon. As we stop to consider the geometry applied here, we find an interesting dynamic. This is a shadow of the pattern we saw above in the nine full series of coloredcurtains of 27 cubits in the Tabernacle, referring to the Sidereal Lunar Month of 27.322 days. Geometrically, the numbers 3:9:27 reflect a relationship where 9 is the geometric mean between 3 and 27. Thus, 9 equals the square root of 3 x 27, or 81. The Mayan knowledge of this is geometry is indicated in one of their most accurate lunar calendars, based on 81 full moons occurring every 2,392 days. Here we find a celestial image of the spiritual hierarchy of the enemy’s kingdom of 1/3 of the host of Heaven, based on an aspect of the lunar sidereal cycle, counted against the backdrop of the stars. We should also take note that the common ratio underlying all of this, without variation is 1:3. This invariant ratio, can also be expressed as 1/3, which reflects the third part of the angels dragged down to Earth in the dragon’s tail in Rev. 12:4 above. Thus we find common elements in the order of Cherubim depicted on the curtains of the Tabernacle, with the 27 days of the sidereal lunar month, as they correlate to the Draconicmonth of the dragon’s head and tail. This ancient connection with dragon and the lunar cycle, is also witnessed in the fact that in Astrology, a lunar Node, the point where the Moon crosses over the ecliptic, was also called the dragon’s head and tail, dictating the periods of the eclipse cycle, according to the phi ratio. The Eclipse limits for both solar and lunar eclipses are dictated by a 6 degree range within 12.5° to 18.5° of the lunar Node, wherein a New Moon or Full Moon takes place. The accuracy of the Maya lunar calendar is indicated in its 11,960 days [2392 x 5] or 405 lunations,[260 x 46 in tzolkin terms] when divided [11,960÷ 405= 29.5308] gives us a lunar synodic cycle of 29.5308 days. When this lunar synodic cycle is divided by the 69 groups or families of days when solar eclipses occur, [29.5038÷ 69=173.333] we get the average period of 173.333 days between eclipses. As the Sun links with a lunar Node when two of these 173.333 periods elapse, it gives us an eclipse year of 346.62 days, 18.6 days short of the solar year of 365.242. This reveals the basis of thephi ratio because 18.618 x 18.618=346.62 telling us that the lunar cycle relates to the eclipse cycle via the phi ratio of 1.618.
This parallels the connection made by Richard H. Allen [p.249], that Hydra’s “winding course symbolized that of the Moon; hence the latter’s nodes are called the Dragon’s Head & Tail. When a comet was in them, poison was thought to be scattered by it over the world.”12
Since the six degree range of the lunar Nodewas formerly tied to Draco at the northern Celestial Pole, it indicates the time before the dragon was cast down to the earth with his spirit realm. However, after the dragon was cast down, its head and tail would be transferred from the polar regions, down to the ecliptic, where the Hydra is located. This powerful figure of casting down the dragon, with his 1/3 of the stars of heaven,[fallen angels] to the Earth with him, is symbolically depicted as aMeteor shower from the ConstellationDraco, surrounding the period of Christ’s birth. For a deeper look into this topic, please review our website article: “Introduction to the Jupiter-Regulus Conjunctions.” Also noteworthy is the section on “Lunar eclipses and Occultations” under the study on the “Calendar of the Biblical Patriarchs.” This verse [Rev. 12:4] also relates directly back to the first prophecy of the promised seed in Gen. 3:15, where the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head, while the serpent’s seed would bruise the man’s heel. As the dragon’s head directs the spirit realm in his tail, the desired acts of persecution and destruction against the woman’s seed are carried out by the serpent’s seed-those who follow the Way of Cain [Jude 1:11], in open rebellion against the true God. This reveals the overriding purpose of the serpent, devouring the promised seed of the woman, as soon as he was born. We saw an example of this in the actions of the serpent’s seed-King Herod, who murdered all the male children around Bethlehem under age 2, in an effort to devour the infant Jesus, as soon as he was born. Having failed at this, the enemy has turned his attention to the believers.This develops a fuller understanding of the link between the serpent’s seed and lunar symbolism, which we have referenced in other studies on this website.

This verse encapsulates the victorious life, ministry & completed work of Jesus Christ, from birth to resurrection and beyond, in one verse of Scripture. This figure of speech is called symperasma, provides a summary and conclusion of the subject matter-the inevitable Coming and ultimate Victory of the Promised Seed. The emphasis here shows Christ’s ultimate victory over the serpent and its seed, despite all the enemy’s efforts to obstruct the purposes of the Heavenly Father. This emphasis is monumentally preserved in the Great Sphinx with the head of the Woman Virgo bearing the infant promised seed, who matures to fulfill his highest of calling, by defeating and destroying the enemy’s work, as shown in the other 10 zodiacal signs between Virgo and Leo. His final victory over the serpent is witnessed in Leo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah [Rev. 5:5], as the Lion’s extended claws are set to rend the Hydra to pieces. The Hydra is the longest of the Constellations, extending below Libra’s scales through Virgo and Leo to include the Crab of Cancer. These four signs; the woman, her seed, his sacrifice, and the altar, not only represent 1/3 of the entire circle of the 12 signs of the zodiac, but also reflect a carnal image of Christ’s righteous sacrifice, in the religion of human works, attempting to earn salvation while ignoring the completed work of Grace, given by God in His only begotten Son. Thus, as the Hydra [the serpent destroyed] slithers below these four signs of thezodiac, he represents the counterfeit and the deception of antichrist, leading away from, and denying the true work of Christ. This is an important aspect of the devil’s works that Christ came to destroy [John 10:10, I John 3:8].

In verse 7 we have the Archangel Michael contending in spiritual warfare against the dragon and his angels even as we see below in Daniel 10. In verse 9 we find four names of the adversary [dragon, old serpent, the Devil, and Satan], referring to four different aspects of the enemy’s spiritual dominion over the darkness of this world. We also see a fifth name-deceiver, which is a common trait in the other four names of the enemy. The Devil must deceive people into following his ways, because nobody in their right mind would ever voluntarily follow him if they knew his true nature. Thus deception is a universal trait of the enemy’s kingdom, and his mode of operation. This shows how the enemy has marshaled his spiritual forces of fallen angels in direct Opposition to the Godly order, reflected both in the curtains of Moses’ Tabernacle, and in the symbols of the Cardinal Directions. We have just seentwo examples of how the serpentine aspects of the enemy’s spiritual dominion are celestially represented in the Dragon-Draco and the Hydra. We will now look at Serpens the serpent, followed later by Cetus the sea monster.

One aspect of Serpens that arrests our attention is the recurring theme of the dragon’s head and tail, which we discussed above in connection with the serpentine asterism of Draco. This alerts us to the idea that, as the 4D symbolism of the Cardinal Directions paints a picture of composite truth, so their shadows do also. Just as each of the enemy’s 4 names in Rev. 12:9, indicate different functions in how the adversary opposes God’s purposes, so these serpents in the sky indicate varying aspects of his activity, which when taken together, provide us a detailed picture of how he works his evil designs in his world kingdom. Therefore we should consider these four serpentine signs both individually and collectively, as shadows of the cardinal points, to glean the fuller lesson of their message. As Robert Burnham states:

”Serpens is the only star group completely divided into two portions: Serpens Caput [head] to the west of Ophiuchus, and Serpens Cauda [tail] to the east.”13

In support of this structure, the stars within this Constellation follow suit. Burnham points out that “the Beta star in Serpens marks the head… while the Theta star marks the end of the serpent’s tail.”14 [ppg.1764-65] He goes on to highlight an intriguing link to Roman myth, where “Serpens is a symbol of the divine healer Aesculapius who became the god of medicine, and who appears in the sky as Ophiuchus the serpent bearer.”15

In the context of our current study of Mayan Astrology, Ophiuchus’ battle against his enemy is pictured in this Constellation group as the Scorpion and Serpens. This gives us an example of how to take a composite view to glean the truth from the celestial signs. Man’s struggle for dominion against the serpent is highlighted by the temporary wound the serpent inflicts on him, as shown by the scorpion’s stinging of his heel [Gen. 3:15]. The star picture of this initial prophecy of the promised seed cannot be fully grasped, unless we take a composite look at these signs [Ophiuchus, Serpens, Sagittarius, Scorpius & Corona]. The same can be said of the four serpents in the sky, where the function and mode of operation of the evil one is concerned. A case in point we are illustrating here relates to the Mayan prophecy of the end of the World on December 21st, 2012. Our view of this celestial sign focused on the galactic center of the Milky Way Galaxy, is based around the Biblical Astronomyof this scenario, more than the emphasis given to Mayan Astrology by most others.The graphic below from the Voyager17 Astronomy program depicts the sky on this predicted date for the end of the world based on the Mayan Astrology. The primary componets of the scene includeSagittarius, representing the returning Lord Jesus Christ, riding his flying white steed in ultimate victory in the spiritual warfare against the dragon and his brood, represented by Scorpius the scorpion. The Sun is centered at the tip of Sagittaruis" arrow which is pointed at the red star Antares, the heart of the Scorpion, as it"s simeultaneously being crushed from above by the foot of Ophiuchus.This reveals the light of the world shining his inescapable light on the kingdom of darkness, as he totally exposes the evil works of the enemy while conquering and laying waste to them all.

As The Sun of God arises here with healing in his wings, the light of the world is pictured at the heel of Ophiuchus. This is the heel wounded by the Scorpion, but his sacrificial death was only temporary, unlike the deadly wound he inflicts on the serpent. This image of Jesus as the great healer of all our wounds was foreshadowed by Moses Brass Serpent, also known as the Caduceus. Even today, the symbol of the medical arts is this Caduceus. This ancient icon formed on mirrored serpents spiraling around a pole, pictured with Mercury/Hermes below, finds its Biblical precedent in the book of Numbers 21. It will be profitable to take a closer look at this brass serpent of Moses here, to study not only the Biblical basis of the Caduceus, and how it became the symbol of the medical arts, but also its connection to the Constellation Serpens.

Moses’ Brass Serpent

In this Biblical topical study we will include some pertinent elements from Keil & Delitsche as we have above, which bring out key aspects of this record. The purpose is to provide the reader a fuller view of the context and details of this important study, while elaborating on elements not considered by Keil & Delitsche, also.

Numbers 21:4-9
(Num 21:4) And they journeyed5265 from mount2022 Hor4480, 2023 by the way1870 of the Red5488 sea,3220 to compass5437 (853) the land776 of Edom:123 and the soul5315 of the people5971 was much discouraged7114 because of the way.1870(Num 21:5) And the people5971 spoke1696 against God,430 and against Moses,4872 Wherefore4100 have ye brought us up5927 out of Egypt4480, 4714 to die4191 in the wilderness?4057 for3588 there is no369 bread,3899 neither369 is there any water;4325 and our soul5315 loatheth6973 this light7052 bread.3899(Num 21:6) And the LORD3068 sent7971 (853) fiery8314 serpents5175 among the people,5971 and they bit5391 (853) the people;5971 and much7227 people5971 of Israel4480, 3478 died.4191(Num 21:7) Therefore the people5971 came935 to413 Moses,4872 and said,559 We have sinned,2398 for3588 we have spoken1696 against the LORD,3068 and against thee; pray6419 unto413 the LORD,3068 that he take away5493 (853) the serpents5175 from4480, 5921 us. And Moses4872 prayed6419 for1157 the people.5971
(Num 21:8)And the LORD3068 said559 unto413 Moses,4872 Make6213 thee a fiery serpent,8314 and set7760 it upon5921 a pole:5251 and it shall come to pass,1961 that every one3605 that is bitten,5391 when he looketh upon7200 it, shall live.2425
(Num 21:9) And Moses4872 made6213 a serpent5175 of brass,5178 and put7760 it upon5921 a pole,5251 and it came to pass,1961 that if518 a serpent5175 had bitten5391 (853) any man,376 when he beheld5027, 413 the serpent5175 of brass,5178 he lived.2425

(K&D) March of Israel through the Arabah. Plague of Serpents, and Brazen Serpent. – Num. 21:4. As the Edomites refused a passage through their land when the Israelites left Mount Hor, they were obliged to take the way to the Red Sea, in order to go round the land of Edom, that is to say, to go down the Arabah to the head of the Elanitic Gulf.

Num. 21:5-6
“As they went along this road the people became impatient (“the soul of the people was much discouraged,” see Ex. 6:9), and they began once more to murmur against God and Moses, because they had neither bread nor water (cf. Num. 20:4.), and were tired of the loose, i.e., poor, food of manna. The low-lying plain of the Arabah, which runs between steep mountain walls from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea, would be most likely to furnish the Israelites with very little food, except the manna which God gave them. The people rebelled in consequence, and were punished by the Lord with fiery serpents, the bite of which caused many to die, lit., burning snakes, so called from their burning, i.e., inflammatory bite, which filled with heat and poison, just as many of the snakes were called by the Greeks, not from the skin of these snakes with fiery red spots, which are frequently found in the Arabah, and are very poisonous.”

(Note: This is the account given by v. Schubert, R. ii. p. 406: “In the afternoon they brought us a very mottled snake of a large size, marked with fiery red spots and wavy stripes, which belonged to the most poisonous species, as the formation of its teeth clearly showed. According to the assertion of the Bedouins, these snakes, which they greatly dreaded, were very common in that neighborhood.”)

Num. 21:7
“This punishment brought the people to reflection. They confessed their sin to Moses, and entreated him to deliver them from the plague through his intercession with the Lord. And the Lord helped them; in such a way, however, that the reception of help was made to depend upon the faith of the people.”As the Israelites endured the judgment of their sin of speaking against God & Moses, they were shown the error of their ways in no uncertain terms, but were still allowed by the merciful Heavenly Father, to remain with the tribes under Moses, as they continued their journey through the wilderness.

Num. 21:8-9
“At the command of God, Moses made a brazen serpent, and put it upon a standard.
Whoever then of the persons bitten by the poisonous serpents looked at the brazen serpent with faith in the promise of God, lived, i.e., recovered from the serpent"s bite. The serpent was to be made of brass or copper, because the color of this metal, when the sun was shining upon it, was most like the appearance of the fiery serpents; and thus the symbol would be more like the thing itself.
The brazen serpent is called “a symbol of salvation; for he that turned himself toward it was not saved by the thing that he saw, but by Thee, that art the Savior of all.” It was not merely intended, however, as Ewald supposes (Gesch. ii. p. 228), as a “sign that just as this serpent hung suspended in the air, bound and rendered harmless by the command of Jehovah, so every one who looked at this with faith in the redeeming power of Jehovah, was secured against the evil, - a figurative sign, therefore, like that of St. George and the Dragon among ourselves;” for, according to this, there would be no internal causal link between the fiery serpents & the brazen image of a serpent. It was rather intended as a figurative representation of the poisonous serpents, rendered harmless by the mercy of God. For God did not cause a real serpent to be taken, but the image of a serpent, in which the fiery serpent was stiffened, as it were, into dead brass, as a sign that the deadly poison of the fiery serpents was overcome in this brazen serpent. This is not to be regarded as a symbol of the divine healing power; nor is the selection of such a symbol to be deduced and explained, as it is by Winer, Kurtz, Knobel, and others, from the symbolical view that was common to all the heathen religions of antiquity, that the serpent was a beneficent and health-bringing power, which led to its being exalted into a symbol of the healing power, and a representation of the gods of healing. This heathen view is not only foreign to the Old Testament,and without any foundation in the fact that, in the time of Hezekiah, the people paid a superstitious worship to the brazen serpent erected by Moses (2Kings 18:4); but it is irreconcilably opposed to the biblical view of the serpent, as the representative of evil, which was founded upon Gen. 3:15, and is only traceable to the magical art of serpent-charming, which the Old Testament abhorred as an idolatrous abomination. On the contrary, to conquer sin it was necessary that the Redeemer should be without sin; and to take away its power from death, it was requisite that Christ, the Prince of life, who had life in Himself, should rise again from death and the grave (John 5:26; John 11:25; Act 3:15; 2Tim. 1:10).

The brazen serpent became a symbol of salvation on the three grounds which Luther pointed out. In the first place, the serpent which Moses was to make by the command of God was to be of brass or copper, that is to say, of a reddish color, and (although without poison) altogether like the persons who were red and burning with heat because of the bite of the fiery serpents. In the second place, the brazen serpent was to be set up upon a pole for a sign. And in the third place, those who desired to recover from the fiery serpent"s bite and live, were to look at the brazen serpent upon the pole, otherwise they could not recover or live (Luther"s Sermon on John 3:1-15). It was in these three points, as Luther has also clearly shown, that the typical character of this symbol lay, to which Christ referred in His conversation with Nicodemus (John 3:14). The brazen serpent had the form of a real serpent, but was “without poison, and altogether harmless.” So God sent His Son in the form of sinful flesh, and yet without sin (Rom. 8:3; 2Cor. 5:21; 1Pet. 2:22-24). - 2. In lifting up of the serpent as a standard. This was (a “showing openly,” or “triumphing”), a triumphal exhibition of the poisonous serpents as put to death in the brazen image, just as the lifting up of Christ upon the cross was a public triumph over the evil principalities and powers below the sky (Col. 2:14-15). - 3. In the cure effected through looking at the image of the serpent. Just as the Israelites had to turn their eyes to the brazen serpent in believing obedience to the word of the Lord, in order to be cured of the bite of the poisonous serpents, so much we look with faith at the Son of man lifted up upon the cross, if we would be delivered from the bite of the old serpent, from sin, death, the devil, and hell. “Christ is the antitype of the serpent, inasmuch as He took upon Himself the most pernicious of all pernicious potencies, viz., sin, and made a vicarious atonement for it” (Hengstenberg on John 3:14). The brazen image of the serpent was taken by the Israelites to Canaan, and preserved till the time of Hezekiah, who had it broken in pieces, because the idolatrous people had presented incense-offerings to this holy relic (2Kings 18:4).”17

We find in this fascinating Bible record, that by viewing Moses’ Brass Serpent, God made healing available to the Israelites afflicted by the fiery serpents. This serpent was corrupted into an idol, still being revered over 800 years later, in the times of King Hezekiah. This shows one mode of how the enemy deceives, by emphasizing a literal aspect of God’s work in the senses realm, causing people to miss the spiritual truths communicated by the physical symbol. In effect the physical symbol becomes a blind spot in human perception, leaving a psychological open door for the enemy to exploit. This case is especially worthy of interest due to the longevity of the idol in question, as is evident with the caduceus, still the modern symbol of the medical arts. As Kiel & Delitzsche astutely observed above: “the symbolic view that was common to all heathen religions of antiquity, that the serpent was a beneficent and health-bringing power, which led to its being exalted into a symbol of the healing power, and a representation of the gods of healing…” The truth of course, is that there is only One true God of Healing, the Almighty Heavenly Father, Who created the human body as a self-healing biological system. The ancient Greek myth of Hermes the bearer of the caduceus, promoted the polytheistic idea of a pantheon of many gods, each having different areas of specialization. One key aspect of Numbers 21, are the Hebrew words for “fiery serpents.” The Hebrew for “fiery serpents” here, according to Bullinger, are nacheshim seraphim. Nacheshim comes from the root nachash [to shine],18 which is the same Hebrew word referring to the serpent of Genesis 3, who tempted Eve.

(Gen 3:1) Now the serpent5175 was1961 more subtle6175 than any4480, 3605 beast2416 of the field7704 which834 the LORD3068 God430 had made.6213 And he said559 unto413 the woman,802 Yea,637, 3588 hath God430 said,559 Ye shall not3808 eat398 of every4480, 3605 tree6086 of the garden?1588

The subtle craftiness of this serpent [H5175] that approached Eve, as a shining one, or an angel of light[II Cor. 3:11-14]; a spirit being of high order possessing superior cunning and knowledge that beguiledand seduced Eve, is embodied in the “old serpent” of Genesis. In II Kings 18:4 Moses’ brass serpent was called nehustan, which the Israelites burnt incense to, meaning a “brass or copper thing,” relating to its shining luster. The second word in Numbers 21:6 referring to “fiery serpents” is seraphim, meaning burning one. The burning poison of the serpent’s bites in Num. 21:6 denotes the figure of speech, metonomy (of effect), because the effect of the bite was a burning sensation. Because both of these Hebrew words are used synonymously for serpents, we have a symbol, in the brass serpent wherein “every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.” In effect, the shining light of the nachash neutralized the burning bite of the seraph, so that healing resulted. When God told Moses to “Make thee a fiery serpent, [seraph] and set it upon a pole” in Num. 21:8, he obeyed this command in verse 9, by making a brass Nachash. Both words are not only used interchangeably in this Biblical record, relating to fiery serpents, but they are also used of spirit beings or “shining ones,” in this case-Lucifer as he appeared in Eden.
As these Hebrew words for serpents mirror each other, we find a similar effect in the figure of the caduceus, which depicts two serpents spiraling around a pole facing each other. In the graphic below we see a geometric reflection of this, illustrating how the Fibonacci & Lucas number series converge towards the golden mean of the phi ratio. For a detailed look at the geometry involved here, please check the link @ www.spirasolaris.ca/sbb4c.html [figure 9].

To grasp a fuller view of our ancient enemy the “old serpent” [nachash] we need to take into account how this word [H5175] is used in other Scriptures, and the other serpentine attributes disclosed in God’s Word, as they correlate to the four serpentine constellations. An important Scripture along these lines is found at the start of Isaiah 27.

(Isa 27:1) In that1931 day3117 the LORD3068 with his sore7186 and great1419 and strong2389 sword2719 shall punish6485, 5921 leviathan3882 the piercing1281 serpent,5175 even leviathan3882 that crooked6129 serpent;5175 and he shall slay2026 (853) the dragon8577 that834 is in the sea.3220

Kiel & Delitzsche’s comment’s below show some aspects of the meaning of this verse, but they do not go far enough in revealing the spiritual powers behind the world powers they discuss here. The spiritual powers behind these thrones of “imperial powers,” as we will find in the Daniel 10 record below, are the subject of the structure of the enemy’s spirit kingdom, by which the dragon runs the systems of the world. As K&D reference below: “the tannin (the stretched-out aquatic animal) is the standing emblem of Egypt…” provides us an indication of the spiritual powers behind the imperial power of Egypt, which we will take a closer look at below.

(K&D) “Upon whom the judgment of Jehovah particularly falls, is described in figurative and enigmatical words in Isa. 27:1 : “In that day will Jehovah visit with His sword, with the hard, and the great, and the strong, leviathan the fleet serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent, and slay the dragon in the sea.” No doubt the three animals are emblems of three imperial powers. Now the tannin (the stretched-out aquatic animal) is the standing emblem of Egypt (Isa. 51:9; Ps. 74:13; Ezek. 29:3; Ezek. 32:2). And as the Euphrates-land and Asshur are mentioned in Isa. 27:12, Isa. 27:13 in connection with Egypt, it is probable that the other two animals signify the kingdom of the Tigris, i.e., Assyria, with its capital Nineveh which stood on the Tigris, and the kingdom of the Euphrates, - Chaldea, with its capital Babylon which stood upon the Euphrates. Moreover, the application of the same epithet; Leviathan to both the kingdoms, with simply a difference in the attributes, is suggestive of two kingdoms that were related to each other. We must not be misled by the fact that nâchâsh bâriach is a Constellation in Job 26:13; we have no bammarōm (on high) here, as in Isa. 24:21, and therefore are evidently still upon the surface of the globe. The epithet employed was primarily suggested by the situation of the two cities. Nineveh was on the Tigris, which was called hiddekel,

(Note: In point of fact, not only does Arab. signify both an arrow and the Tigris, according to the Neo-Persian lexicons, but the old explanation “Tigris, swift as a dart, since the Medes call the Tigris toxeuma” (the shot or shot arrow; Eustath, on Dion Perieg. v. 984), is confirmed by the Zendic tighri, which has been proved to be used in the sense of arrow or shot, ( i.e., like a heavenly arrow.) on account of the swiftness of its course and its terrible rapids; hence Asshur is compared to a serpent moving along in a rapid, impetuous, long, extended course (bâriach, as in Isa. 43:14, is equivalent to barriach, a noun of the same form, and a different word from berriach, a bolt, Isa. 15:5). Babylon, on the other hand, is compared to a twisted serpent, i.e., to one twisting about in serpentine curves, because it was situated on the winding Euphrates, the windings of which are especially labyrinthine in the immediate vicinity of Babylon. But the real meaning of the emblem, is no more exhausted by this allusion to the geographical situation, than it was in the case of “the desert of the sea” (Isa. 21:1). The attribute of winding is also a symbol of the longer duration of one empire than of the other, and of the more numerous complications into which Israel would be drawn by it. The world-power on the Tigris fires with rapidity upon Israel, so that the fate of Israel is very quickly decided. But the world-power on the Euphrates advances by many windings, and circles its prey in many folds. And these windings are all the more numerous, because in the prophet"s view Babylon is the final form assumed by the empire of the world, and therefore Israel remains encircled by this serpent until the last days. The judgment upon Asshur, Babylon, and Egypt, is the judgment upon the world-powers universally.”19

The Hebrew word for “serpent” in Isa. 27:1 above [nachash] is used twice, which establishes the link between the "old serpent" of Genesis and “leviathan” [H3882] the piercing serpent and the crooked serpent. Reference is also made to the dragon [tanniyn] that is in the sea. The piercing or fleeing serpent is mentioned in Job 26, undoubtedly a reference to the polar Constellation of the dragon, upon which all the “garnished heavens” turn. We see the direct relation here because the words for leviathan as the crooked serpent in Job 26 are the same Hebrew words as the piercing serpent [nachash] in [Isa. 27:1, Gen. 3:1]

(Job 26:13) By his spirit7307 he hath garnished8235 the heavens;8064 his hand3027 hath formed2490 the crooked1281 serpent.5175

The basic implication here is that the Creator originally beautified the lustrous stars of the entire heavens, as part of the body of this great serpent, who watched over the Celestial Pole. However, since the celestial canopy of stars was not created until the 4th day of the Creation Week, we can see that this is God’s disclosure of truths from the First Heaven and Earth, when the angels were in their First Estate, lead by Lucifer prior to his rebellion against the Creator. We can see evidence of this in various ancient stellar myths documented by William Tyler Olcott;
”By some, this serpent is the guardian of the stars (the golden apples) which hang from the Pole tree in the Garden of Hesperides near Mt. Atlas in Africa. In northern temperate Latitudes this Constellation never set, and the Greeks therefore saw in it an emblem of eternal vigilance, symbolized by this dragon of the garden, guarding the precious fruit.”20Considering that these stars named by the Creator [Ps. 147:4], constitute the celestial gospel, God’s Word written in the stars, this was “precious fruit” indeed, that Lucifer as the angel of light, was first responsible to guard. The identification of these stars with the angels is corroborated in the study above, on the Biblical usage of the “Host of Heaven.” The Egyptian Hieroglyph for the heavens was a serpent whose scales denoted the stars-bringing to mind Job’s reference to Leviathan’s scales [Job 41:15-17, 23]. In Egypt this dragon was called Typhon who also took the form of a Crocodile pictured below. On the Denderah zodiac this crocodile appears in the region of circumpolars, who were destroyed with the rising of the Sun, according to their star myth. The central passages of the Temples of Hathor at Denderah, where oriented to this ancient sign of the dragon/crocodile, circa 3500 BC.

(K&D) Job 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble And are astonished at His threatening.
12 By His power He rouseth up the sea, And by His understanding He breaketh Rahab in pieces.
13 By His breath the heavens become cheerful; His hand hath formed the fugitive dragon.

This is not meant of the turbulence of the sea, to which is not appropriate, but of a sea monster, which, like the crocodile and the dragon, are become an emblem of Pharaoh and his power, as Isa. 51:9. has applied this primary passage: the writer of the book of Job purposely abstains from such references to the history of Israel. Without doubt, the Hebrew word denotes a demoniacal monster, like the demons that shall be destroyed at the end of the world, one of which is called by the Persians [akomano], evil thought, or, pride. But it is possible to translate:

“by His spirit (creative spirit) the heavens are beauty, His hand has formed the flying dragon.” [Prov. 8:24] to wit, the Constellation of the Dragon, one of the most straggling constellations, which winds itself between the Greater and Lesser Bears almost half through the polar circle. Aratus in Cicero, de nat. Deorum, ii. 42, describes it more graphically, both in general, and in regard to the many stars of different magnitudes which form its body from head to tail. Among the Arabs it is called el-hajje, the serpent, e.g., in Firuzabâdi: the hajje is a Constellation between the Lesser Bear (farqadân, the two calves) and the Greater Bear (benât en-na‛sch, the daughters of the bier), “or ettanîn, the dragon, e.g., in one of the authors quoted by Hyde on Ulugh Beigh"s Tables of the Stars, p. 18: the tanîn lies round about the north pole in the form of a long serpent, with many bends and windings:

(Note: Vid., in Joseph Kara"s Comm. on Job, contributed by S. D. Luzzatto in Kerem Chemed, 7th year, S. 57ff.) expresses it: “When God created the two lights (the sun and moon) and the five stars (planets) and the twelve (the Constellations of the zodiac), He also created the (dragon), to unite these heavenly bodies as by a weaver"s beam, and made it stretch itself on the firmament from one end to another as a bar, like a wounded serpent furnished with the head and tail.” It is preserved to us, everywhere the signification fugitivus, and we will also keep to this: the dragon in the heavens is so called, as having the appearance of fleeing and hastening away. But in what sense is it said of God, that He pierces or slays it? In Isa. 51:9, where the emblem of Egypt (Pharaoh), and Isa. 27:1, where the emblem of Assyria, the empire of the Tigris, the idea of destruction by the sword of Jehovah is clear. The present passage is to be explained according to Job 3:8, (comp. Isa. 27:1). It is the dragon in the heavens which produces the eclipse of the sun, by winding itself round about the sun. That it is God who disperses the clouds of heaven by the breath of His spirit, the representative of which in the elements is the wind, so that the azure becomes visible again; and it is He who causes the darkening of the sun to cease, so that the earth can again rejoice in the brightness of that great light, - these two contemplations of the Almighty working of God in nature are so expressed by the poet, that he clothes the second in the mythological garb of the popular conception.”21

It is fitting to see K&D’s many celestial references above, to Draco the dragon at the North Pole; “the tannîn lies round about the north pole in the form of a long serpent, with many bends and windings,” linked to the sea-dragon [tanniyn-H8577] of Isa 27:1, since this is one of the prominently named stars of this sign, found in the dragon’s HEAD. This star called Eltannin with varied spellings, the key however is its link to this Hebrew word, which also has historical roots in the Arabic: Al Ras al Tinnin, another celestial reference to the dragon’s head. We should note the link here between the prominent star Eltannin in Draco’s head, and tanniyn the sea-dragon or leviathan. This tells us that, as these words are used synonymously, they all refer to the same spiritual enemy. This enemy has always tried to conceal his identity, written by the Creator’s Hand in the stars. Thus, the serpent has hidden the truths of his description and attributes, in “mythological garb” as [K&D] refer above to it. By tracing this word’s usage in the Bible, we can untangle the confusion that these myths have introduced, not only in the constellations, as we have documented in the study on “Biblical Astronomy vs. Astrology”, but also in the idol of Nehustan - Moses’ Brass Serpent. As the believing Israelites viewed the nachash of Moses’ brass serpent, the burning bite of the seraph was neutralized, and the negative effect of the serpent’s bite was cancelled out, resulting in their healing. Jesus himself quotes this record to Nicodemus in John 3, leading to perhaps the most often quoted single verse in the Bible.

Even as Moses’ brass serpent was raised here on a pole, symbolic of both the cross and the north pole, to heal the Israelites of the serpent’s deadly burning venom, even so Christ was raised in crucifixion as our Savior from the serpent’s venom of deadly sin, so that we might have newness of life, both physically and spiritually, as we grow unto the Great Day of the Lord’s Return. As we have seen how the dragon first stood guard over the celestial gospel, the most ancient written record of God’s Word, so we see Christ as the living Word made flesh, who came and dwelt among us. Therefore, the Caduceus helps us to understand how all the enemy’s juxtaposition to God’s purposes that he once championed, will only aid in the ultimate and inexorable progressive growth of life, including spiritual growth-life, unto the inevitable fulfillment of the Creator’s purposes, including eternal life. As we recall the symbolism of the dragon’s head and tail in light of the caduceus, we see that as these spiraling serpents circle the pole, they converge closer towards the mathematical perfection of the phi ratio with each turn. As these opposing serpents duel, the cumulative effect is that evil ultimately aids in the growth towards a closer walk of perfect fellowship with the Creator, exposing and eliminating individual imperfection with each turn. God has built into the boundaries of Creation… limits that the enemy cannot trespass. Evil can only go so far-it desires our complete destruction, but God intervenes to prevent it, when we turn to Him in our distress. Evil attempts to perfectly counterfeit the genuine power of God, but the Almighty only allows it up to a certain point. Even as the priests of the star religion of Egypt, imitated the first of Moses’ signs at Pharaoh’s Court with his staff, and as the waters of the Nile turned blood red, yet they could not duplicate his later wonders, and ultimately succumbed to the power of the true God thatMoses embodied. This record is found in Exodus 7 & 8.

The word for “serpent” in verses 9, 10 & 12 is tanniyn [H8577] used of a sea serpent, dragon, or a crocodile of the Nile. This adds more depth to our understanding of the ancient Egyptian Star religion, since the polar dragon Constellation in Egypt, was seen as a crocodile. The Maya sacred 260-day calendar called the tzolkin, was also depicted as a large crocodile whose body held the glyphs for the planets; Venus, Mars, Mercury & Jupiter. The glyphs for the Sun and Moon were also attached to the crocodile’s body because, this sacred calendar incorporated the synodic planetary cycles into the luni-solar rhythms more accurately than any other calendar in history. The graphic below shows a deluge of water flowing from the crocodile’s open jaws, flooding the earth, while a black spiritof destruction brings ruin to the world as told in the Popul Vuh. It is interesting to note that the destructive flood issues forth from the crocodile’s mouth, which includes the blackdestructive spiritas part of this flood. Each day on this tzolkin calendar of the Maya was not only dedicated to a specific “day-god,” but the day itself was identified with the spiritual attributes of each day-god in particular. These day-gods are depicted as the scales of 6 intertwined serpents on the Madrid Codex, which we have previously discussed in our website study concerning the birth of Christ, entitled “The Jupiter-Regulus triple union of 3-2 BC.” Similarly, as W.T. Olcott found in an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph of Leviathan, whose scales denoted the stars, this is another common element found in the star myths of these cultures, which had no known direct contact, & existed at different times in history, but share common ideas and concepts of the world monomyth. God’s Word has more to say about this sea-dragon associated with Egypt in Ezekiel 29.

There are numerous examples in Scripture where the rivers and seas speak figuratively of the spirit realm, like Ps. 74:13 below. Here in Ezek. 29:3, a direct link is established between Pharaoh and the “great dragon” [tanniyn] in the midst of his rivers. As we have already seen however, the dragon does not represent the imperial power of Egypt alone, but also the spiritual power of the dragon behind the throne. The next two verses associate the life [fish] in “his river,” with the scales of the great dragon; as all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. The fish refer both literally to the actual fish swimming in the Nile, and the spiritual life of the river clinging to the scales of the sea-dragon. The spiritual life attributed to the Nile in the many idols of ancient Egypt, was a major part of God’s judgment on them, in Moses’ 10 plagues, each a power packed statement of God’s Omnipotence, opposed to the counterfeit power of Egypt's idols.Celestially these attributes connect closely to Cetus the sea-monster, whose famed long period variable star-Mira (the rebel), the first variable star discovered in Astronomy, provide us a picture of the unsteady, transitive nature of Leviathan.

(Eze 29:4) But I will put5414 hooks2397 in thy jaws,3895 and I will cause the fish1710 of thy rivers2975 to stick1692 unto thy scales,7193 and I will bring thee up5927 out of the midst4480, 8432 of thy rivers,2975 and all3605 the fish1710 of thy rivers2975 shall stick1692 unto thy scales.7193
(Eze 29:5) And I will leave5203 thee thrown into the wilderness,4057 thee
and all3605 the fish1710 of thy rivers:2975 thou shalt fall5307 upon5921 the open6440 fields;7704 thou shalt not3808 be brought together,622 nor3808 gathered:6908
I have given5414 thee for meat402 to the beasts2416 of the field776 and to the fowls5775 of the heaven.8064
(Eze 29:6) And all3605 the inhabitants3427 of Egypt4714 shall know3045 that3588
I589 am the LORD,3068 because3282 they have been1961 a staff4938 of reed7070 to the house1004 of Israel.3478
(Eze 29:7) When they took hold8610 of thee by thy hand,3709 thou didst break,7533 and rend1234 all3605 their shoulder:3802 and when they leaned8172 upon5921 thee, thou didst broke,7665 and madest all3605 their loins4975 to be at a stand.5976
(Eze 29:8) Therefore3651 thus3541 saith559 the Lord136 GOD;3069 Behold,2009 I will bring935 a sword2719 upon5921 thee, and cut off3772 man120 and beast929 out of4480 thee.

Even as we saw God’s judgment upon this “dragon [tannyin] that is in the sea,” in Isa. 27:1, expressed as great sword, we see the same sword against Leviathan and the fish of its scales, here in v.8 of Ezekiel 29, (see also Ezek. 32:2-16). The reference in verse 4, to God putting hooks in the jaws of this sea-dragon, is aptly described in the brightest star of the Constellation Cetus, called Menkar-meaning "the enemy bound." This star is located in the upper mandible of Cetus, just where we would expect to find a fish hook landing a catch, that in the OT, only the Heavenly Father could handle. Since Christ’s victory over the enemy, we stand righteous in his legal power of attorney, destroying the works of the devil, and standing against his kingdom of darkness even as God Himself does below.

(Eze 29:9) And the land776 of Egypt4714 shall be1961 desolate8077 and waste;2723 and they shall know3045 that3588 I589 am the LORD:3068 because3282 he hath said,559 The river2975 is mine, and I589 have made6213 it.
(Eze 29:10) Behold,2009 therefore3651 I am against413 thee, and against413 thy rivers,2975 and I will make5414 (853) the land776 of Egypt4714 utterly waste2723, 2721 and desolate,8077 from the tower4480, 4024 of Syene5482 even unto5704 the border1366 of Ethiopia.3568

This section of Ezekiel 29 is a good example of how, through the use of figurative language, God’s Word can refer to both “imperial powers” like Egypt, and spiritual powers like Leviathan simultaneously, even as (K & D) illustrate above in reference to Isa. 27:1. We have noted how leviathan is referred to synonymously with the old serpent [nachash & tanniyn], and that this section of Job 40-41, provides important background information on the enemy and his kingdom.This concept has been lost on the greater majority of theologians, who focus on the literal references to crocodiles but miss, or worse, deny the subtler references to what the crocodile symbolizes. Our view of Job 41 will take into account how these references to the old serpent & the Devil, are part of God’s disclosure of his“parts, power or comely proportion,” [Job 41:12]. We will again utilize selected commentary from (K & D), noting how their comments for the most part, emphasize the literal aspects of the text, although it includes some very valuable stellar references. It is through the unique vehicle of Biblical Astronomy that many of these long hidden truths can come to the surface. The library of stellar lore holds truths in containers not opened to public view for millenia, and we are privileged to bring it to those who desire to look into these sacred volumes. We will expound on numerous symbolic aspects of the text have been neglected, concerning the spirit realm associated with the power of Leviathan.

Job 41:1-5
(Job 41:1) Canst thou draw out4900 leviathan3882 with a hook?2443 or his tongue3956 with a cord2256 which thou lettest down?8257
(Job 41:2) Canst thou put7760 a hook100 into his nose?639 or bore5344 his jaw3895 through with a thorn?2336
(Job 41:3) Will he make many7235 supplications8469 unto413 thee? will he speak1696 soft7390 words unto413 thee?
(Job 41:4) Will he make3772 a covenant1285 with5973 thee? wilt thou take3947 him for a servant5650 forever?5769
(Job 41:5) Wilt thou play7832 with him as with a bird?6833 or wilt thou bind7194 him for thy maidens?5291

(K&D) “In Job 3:8, the celestial dragon, that causes the eclipses of the sun (according to the Indian mythology, râhu the black serpent, and ketu the red serpent); in Ps. 104:26 it does not denote some great sea-saurian after the kind of the hydrarchus of the primeval world, The Old Testament language possesses no proper name for the crocodile; the generic name of twisted, and long-extended monsters.”

8 Only lay thy hand upon him Remember the battle, thou wilt not do it again!
9 Behold, every hope becometh disappointment: Is not one cast down even at the sight of him?

“What is said in Job 41:6 is perfectly true; although the crocodile was held sacred in some parts of Egypt, in Elephantine and Apollonopolis, on the contrary, it was salted & eaten as food. Everywhere here it is the creature in its primitive strength and vigour that is spoken of.”22

(Job 41:10) None3808 is so fierce393 that3588 dare stir him up:5782 who4310 then is able to stand3320 before6440 me?
(Job 41:11) Who4310 hath prevented6923 me, that I should repay7999 him? whatsoever is under8478 the whole3605 heaven8064 is mine.

(K&D) 10 None is so foolhardy that he dare excite him! And who is it who could stand before Me?
11 Who hath given Me anything first of all, that I must requite it? Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is Mine.

“One sees from these concluding inferences, thus applied, what is the design, in the connection of this second speech of Jehovah, the reference to behêmoth & leviathan, which somewhat abruptly began in Job 40:15. If even the strength of one of God"s creatures admits no thought of being able to attack it, how much more should the greatness of the Creator deter man from all resistance! For no one has any claim on God, so that he should have the right of appearing before Him with a rude challenge. Every creature under heaven is God"s; man, therefore, possesses nothing that was not God"s property and gift, and he must humbly yield, whether God gives or takes away. The description of the leviathan is again taken up, and in fact hitherto it was only the invincibility of the animal that was spoken of; and yet it is not so described that this picture might form the exact pendent of the preceding.”23

(Job 41:12) I will not3808 conceal2790 his parts,905 nor1697 his power,1369 nor his comely2433 proportion.6187
(Job 41:13) Who4310 can discover1540 the face6440 of his garment?3830 or who4310 can come935 to him with his double3718 bridle?7448
(Job 41:14) Who4310 can open6605 the doors1817 of his face?6440 his teeth8127 are terrible367 round about.5439

(K&D) 12 I will not keep silence about his members, The proportion of his power and the comeliness of his structure.
13 Who could raise the front of his coat of mail? Into his double teeth-who cometh therein?
14 The doors of his face-who openeth them? Round about his teeth is terror.

“clothing,” we have translated “coat of mail,” which the Arab. libâs usually signifies.24God does not want us ignorant of the enemy"s devices, strategies and plans of attack, so we should do our best to "raise the front of his coat of mail" as verse 13 states, so that we can destroy his works [IJohn 3:8b].

(Job 41:15) His scales650, 4043 are his pride,1346 shut up together5462 as with a close 6862 seal.2368
(Job 41:16) One259 is so near5066 to another,259 that no3808 air7307 can come935 between996 them.
(Job 41:17) They are joined1692 one376 to another,251 they stick together,3920 that they cannot3808 be sundered.6504

(K&D) 15 A pride are the furrows of the shields, Shut by a rigid seal.
16 One joineth on to the other, And no air entered between them.
17 One upon another they are arranged, They hold fast together, inseparably.

“furrows of the shields” signifies the square shields themselves bounded by these channels, which refers to these shields, considered, each one for itself, suitably attached to what precedes. Closed is (each single one) by a firmly attached, and therefore firmly closed, seal. Six rows of knotty scales and four scales of the neck cover the upper part of the animal"s body, in themselves firm, and attached to one another in almost impenetrable layers, as is described in Job 41:7.”25

(Job 41:18) By his sneezes5846 a light216 doth shine,1984 and his eyes5869 are like the eyelids6079 of the morning.7837
(Job 41:19) Out of his mouth4480, 6310 go1980 burning lamps,3940 and sparks3590 of fire784 leap out.4422
(Job 41:20) Out of his nostrils4480, 5156 goeth3318 smoke,6227 as out of a seething5301 pot1731 or caldron.100
(Job 41:21) His breath5315 kindleth3857 coals,1513 and a flame3851 goeth out3318 of his mouth.4480, 6310

(K&D) 18 His sneezing sendeth forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn;
19 Out of his mouth proceed flames, Sparks of fire escape from him;
20 Out of his nostrils goeth forth smoke Like a seething pot and caldron;
21 His breath kindleth coals, And flames go forth out of his mouth.

“The comparison of the crocodile"s eyes with (as in Job 3:9, from, to move with quick vibrations, to wink, i.e., tremble), or the rendering of the same as [eidos], is the more remarkable, as, according to Horus, i. 68, two crocodile"s eyes are the hieroglyph.
(Note: In the Ramesseum & elsewhere the crocodile appears with a head pointing upwards in company with couching lions, and the eyes of the crocodile are rendered specially prominent. Near this group it appears again in a curved position, and quite small, but this time in company with a scorpion which bears a disc of the sun. The former seems to me to be a figure of the longest night, the latter of the shortest, so that it does not refer to the rising and setting of the sun, but to the night as prevailing against or succumbing to the day (communicated by Lauth from his researches on the astronomical monuments). But since the growth of the day begins with the longest night, as it seems to me, retain their most natural signification; and the crocodile"s eyes are, notwithstanding, a figure of the light shining forth from the darkness, as the crocodile"s tail signifies black darkness (and Egypt as the black land). The eyes of the crocodile, which are near together, & slanting, glimmer through the water, when it is only a few feet under water, with a red glow. Agama, to glow, and understood as a “heated caldron.” But the word signifies either heat or caldron; the latter however, cannot be linguistically established.”26

(Job 41:23) The flakes4651 of his flesh1320 are joined together:1692 they are firm3332 in 5921 themselves; they cannot1077 be moved.4131
(Job 41:24) His heart3820 is as firm3332 as3644 a stone;68 yea, as hard3332 as a piece 6400 of the nether8482 millstone.
(Job 41:25) When he raiseth up4480, 7613 himself, the mighty410 are afraid:1481 by reason of breakings4480, 7667 they purify themselves.2398(Job 41:26) The sword2719 of him that layeth5381 at him cannot1097 hold:6965 the spear,2595 the dart,4551 nor the habergeon.8302
(Job 41:27) He esteemeth2803 iron1270 as straw,8401 and brass5154 as rotten7539 wood.6086
(Job 41:28) The arrow1121, 7198 cannot3808 make him flee:1272 slingstones68, 7050 are turned2015 with him into stubble.7179
(Job 41:29) Darts8455 are counted2803 as stubble:7179 he laugheth7832 at the shaking7494 of a spear.3591
(Job 41:30) Sharp2303 stones2789 are under8478 him: he spreadeth7502 sharp pointed things2742 upon5921 the mire.2916
(Job 41:31) He maketh the deep4688 to boil7570 like a pot:5518 he maketh7760 the sea3220 like a pot of ointment.4841
(Job 41:32) He maketh a path5410 to shine215 after310 him; one would think2803 the deep8415 to be hoary.7872
(Job 41:33) Upon5921 earth6083 there is not369 his like,4915 who is made6213 without1097 fear.2844
(Job 41:34) He beholdeth7200 (853) all3605 high1364 things: he1931 is a king4428 over5921 all3605 the children1121 of pride.7830

The gist of this section is that all man-made weaponry is useless against this beast, not because the crocodile itself is so formidable a creature, or Egypt is so strong a state-both have been tamed by man throughout history, but because the awesome spiritual power of this beast is too strong for anyone to fight with physical implements of any kind. The only kind of power respected by Leviathan is that of a spiritual nature, from the true God and His only begotten Son. As joint-heirs with Christ and Sons of the Living God, weshare the same spiritual power of attorney that Christ exhibited during and following his ministry on the earth. If God be for us nothing and no one can stand against us!! The Scales of Leviathan are of utmost interest here as they refer to the hierarchy of the spirit realm, as the fish of the river clinging to his scales [Ezek. 29:4]. It is noteworthy that the fish’s action of clinging, to adhere to the scales of the sea-monster, is a result of their deliberate pursuit. K&D have referred to his scales as a “coat of mail,” the Hebrew words for “scale” indicate first; “a river bed in a stream, brook or channel. This idea seems to be linked to what is being trafficked in the river, or the life blood of the river, ie., the fish that cling to his scales. Secondly, the idea of a shield or buckler is conveyed as the scaly hide of the crocodile, serves as his protective coat, and an ornament that is a source of his arrogant pride. These scales are arranged in attack formation, in a very tight impregnable phalanx, to inflict anguish, distress and destruction against the forces of light. This trait implies that each individual scale has life of its own, as we see with the day-gods of the tzolkin calendar, which is also witnessed to a certain degree in crocodile physiology. One distinct difference between alligators and crocodiles is their scales. Both species have ISO’s - sense organs on their scales, but crocodiles have these senses on the majority of scales across their body, while alligator’s are limited to their heads. These senses can detect pressure changes in the water, like a splash on the surface, so they can orient themselves to attack in the direction of these splashes. This is an example of how the truths of animal physiology can support higher spiritual truths... truth is varied and flexible in its application, it can be true on many levels. These truths about crocodile scales apply accurately on a physiological level, and how their function contributes to the crocodile’s behavior, but they also speak on a spiritual level, and we must be cognizant of this or we will miss important lessons that God has for us. God’s Word is the ultimate illustration of this point, as it teaches from the natural to the spiritual, like the parables.
The primary temporal symbol in Mesoamerican myth, as in other ancient cultures was the snake who swallowed it owntail. We find this circular snake, a symbol of cyclic time depicted below in the concentric Calendar Wheel, where the outer wheel shows the 52-year cycle of the Maya calendar, divided into 13 renditions of the four year cycles [13 x 4=52] known as [rabbit, house, cane & reed]. We noted these elementsin our opening comparison, at the beginning of this article, between the structures of the El Castillo Pyramid and the common deck of playing cards.The four circles in the serpents body relate to the four Cardinal Directions of the calendar, embodied in four of the Mayan spirit heads.

The graphic below depicts the Egyptian serpentine image of the Sothic Calendar arranged, according to the four Cardinal Directions, as the serpent head swallows its own tail, with scales symbolizing the stars of heaven. This Egyptianpicture of the Sothic Calendar shows a reconciliation between the 360° circle with the 365-days of the calendar year. Encircled in the serpent's coils at the cardinal points, are the four Egyptian godsSothis/Sirius, Isis, Osiris and Horus, each presiding over a cycle of 365 years which totalled the 1461-year cycle when the rise of the star Sirius aligned with the Sunrise.This idea correlates to the sacred 260-day tzolkin calendar of the Maya, because the Sothic Calendar also conforms to the 260-day pattern [260 x 1461] which equals 365.25 x 1040 days. This provides another illustration of the principles of the world monomyth cropping up in cultures with no direct physical contact, which appeared at different points in history, yet sharing universal archetypes based on truths of acommon celestial myth.

This graphic depicts how each of these cardinal points, illustrate a unified 4D image of the same serpent, as a symbol of its different functions. Draco the dragon at the North Pole, signifies the rebellion of the enemy in spiritual warfare, Serpens shows the subtle and crafty nature of the tempter, Cetus depicts enemy bound by the forces of light, and Hydra is a picture of the enemy and his spirit kingdom destroyed, and rend to pieces under the extended claws of Leo, the attacking Lion of the tribe of Judah. Job 41:15-17 above depict the tight and impenetrable organization of these scales of Leviathan, and how closely they stick together. Jesus also taught on this important subject from a slightly different viewpoint in Matthew 12.